High/Low + Freebie | November 30, 2012

My LOW this Week is that I still find myself having to really push to get anything done. I'm really getting tired of this no motivation/energy thing.  Here's hoping it gets better!

My HIGH for this Week is that I am feeling very blessed for the many things I have in this life. It's so important to stop and count your blessings. I truly am so BLESSED!

I have a freebie for you today - just a cute COWBOY BABY for you!  I created it for my sister who is throwing a baby shower for her friend and I thought you would all like it too! Have a great weekend!

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High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

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Recipe Thursday - Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

This week's Recipe:

These were some great cookies and definitely out of the ordinary!

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies

by Chef in Training
 

2 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil
1 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/3 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
powdered sugar for rolling

Combine sugar, oil and cocoa in a large bowl. Beat until well blended.

Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add to cocoa mixture, beating well.

Cover and refrigerate dough until it is firm enough to handle. If you are wanting them to firm up faster, like me, stick the covered dough in the freezer until firm enough to handle.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a cookie sheet.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls then roll them in powdered sugar. Place on cookie sheet about 2 inches apart from each other.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes.

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Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you! I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!

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Wednesday SayingZ | Plan A

{ This week's quote }
If Plan A didn't work:
the alphabet has 25 more letters!
STAY COOL!

DOWNLOAD LINK

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you! 

I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! I also create pieces of wordart with these quotes each week and offering them to you as a freebie!!!  Feel free to use them in your scrapbook layouts or just print them out for great wall decor!

If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

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Family History TuesdayZ | Bucket List

Here is this week's journal prompt :

My Memories :

There are lots of things on the bucket list that I haven’t actually created yet.  :)  I really should do that sometime - but there is something that I always think about that I want to do.

I want to visit Australia. I’ve always wanted to visit the outback and have that adventure.  It’s the dream vacation that I hope someday to make happen!

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

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Dear Santa Giveaway

I am so excited to celebrate the season by bringing you an amazing Dear Santa giveaway! This giveaway has some great gifts for your holiday shopping list!

Let me introduce the other bloggers to you!

Vanessa from Our Thrifty Ideas:
Hi, I’m Vanessa. Years ago I dreamed of having an amazing husband, crazy cute little kids, and live my life as a "Play at Home Mommy". Somehow I got incredibly lucky and live that dream every day. I am married to an incredibly hard working husband who always puts the needs of his family first. We have a very enthusiastic two year old monkey boy. He keeps me on my toes at all times, and is such a joy in my life. We have the most amazing and beautiful baby girl who inspires a lot of my crafting, and it helps that I get to have her by my side cooing and cheering me on as I attempt many never before tried DIY projects. My life has debt, prayers, hardships, luck, friends, fights, family, stress and LOVE. I wouldn't change anything that has happened in my life, and I learn from each and every experience. I blog to share my life, passion, and loves with anyone willing to listen! Come join in the fun.

Jen from Bakerette:
Hi! I'm Jen. If I could survive on desserts and live in my garden, I would! I created this blog so I can share with you really cool recipes, trends, insights, and ideas I come across every day. Thanks for stopping by and please come back again, you hear?!





Karina from The Bucket List Girl
Hey There, I’m Karina Wetzel, and I’m originally from Brazil, but have lived in Utah for a very long time. That’s where I meet my husband, who I’ve been married to for almost 6 years come this august, He is the love of my life; we have an adorable 9 month old little boy that is our world! I started this blog to challenge myself to complete things on my Bucket List{ Challenges list} Such as finishing a craft project or Losing Weight. My goal is not only to complete things on my list but to help out others along the way…I hope to inspire others along my journey and to help them cross things of their list!


DeDe from DesignZ by DeDe
I'm DeDe Smith and I am a wife to my best friend (Joey) for over 13 years, a mom to 2 kiddos (JJ, age 10 and Beth, age 7), and I am a digital scrapbook designer. I love reading, watching movies, designing, scrapbooking, and being with my family. My blog features my creations and the ramblings of my life as a wife and mom. I'm passionate about many things and I try to bring lots of variety to my blog, in addition to being able to purchase my digital scrapbook designs right from the blog.



Now, ya wanna know what we are giving away?

• 2- $25 Gift Cards to Fab Décor
• 1- $25 Amex Gift Card provided by Bakerette
• 1- $25 Bed Bath and Beyond Gift Card provided by Bakerette
• 4- Holiday CD’s provided by Deseret Book
• 1- Fabric Fat Quarter Bundle provided by Riley Blake Designs
• 2- Bubble Necklaces provided by Our Thrifty Ideas and Very Jane
• 2- Café Zupas blogger cookbook provided by Our Thrifty Ideas and Café Zupas
• 2- $25 Gift Cards to Designz by DeDe Digital Scrapbook Store provided by DesignZ by DeDe
• 1- $25.00 gift card to Lowes
•  1- $15.00 gift certificate to http://bucketboutique.storenvy.com/  

Find our more about each of the sponsors on this page.

Giveaway runs now thru 12/2/12

To enter the giveaway, just log into the rafflecopter form below (with either Facebook or Email) and follow the entry options.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Scrapping Fairytales Store Opening

I'm so happy to announce my opening a new store! I'm so excited to be asked to join Scrapping Fairytales! It's a magical place full of great ideas! Please come and join us!

I hope you'll head on over to MY NEW STORE and check out the Black Friday Store-wide sale! I'm still uploading all my products and I have only a few in there right now - but hopefully more will be coming soon!

Yay for new opportunities!

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High/Low + Freebie | November 23, 2012

My LOW this Week is that I am still struggling with creativity! I want it back. Hopefully it will return to me soon.

My HIGH for this Week is that I'm spending a great long Thanksgiving weekend here with my family.

I have a freebie for you today - the next in my ChibiZ Collection - meet TINKERBELL!  This is for my sister, Charity - love you sis.  Happy Black Friday!

DOWNLOAD LINK

High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

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Recipe Thursday - Cheese Dish

This week's Recipe:

This was a great comfort food. I think next time, I'll add some diced ham to it and that would make it even better. Perfect for family holiday breakfasts like Christmas and/or Easter!

Cheese Dish

by Hilary Weeks in her book, "Bedtime and Naptime..."
 

4 eggs, seperated
1 pound shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
1 pound shredded cheddar cheese
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 can (4 oz) diced green chilis
1 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Beat egg whites until stiff. Spread cheeses in bottom of a greased 9x13 baking dish. In a separate bowl, combine evaporated mil, chilies, egg yolks, flour, salt, and pepper, then gently fold into egg whites. Pour mixture on top of cheese. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees.

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Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you! I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!

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Wednesday SayingZ | Pride & Faith

{ This week's quote }
Take pride in how far you have come 
and have faith in how far you can go

DOWNLOAD LINK

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you! 

I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! I also create pieces of wordart with these quotes each week and offering them to you as a freebie!!!  Feel free to use them in your scrapbook layouts or just print them out for great wall decor!

If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

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Family History TuesdayZ | Teen Years Influence

Here is this week's journal prompt :

My Memories :

There were actually lots of people in my teen years that influenced my life. But I can think of one person in particular that changed a lot of things for me.

DeAnna Glover (Reeve) is one of my heroes.  She is 3 years older than me and is the sister of one of my best friends. This wonderful woman always made me feel good about myself.  In a time where I was very awkward and unsure of myself, she had a way of making sure that I felt important and loved. She included me in so many ways. I just loved being around her.  Because of that, I wanted to be like her. It was because of her that I found my interest in graphic design.  She was awesome at computers and I began watching her do the amazing things she did and it made me want to learn too. I was able to go with her to a class taught at Dixie College where we learned some html and how to start webpages. It was so thrilling for me!  I was the first designer of my high school’s website and doing that - I found my place in graphic design.  All because D took an interest in me and let me follow her around. Thanks DeAnna - you’re amazing!

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

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Recipe Thursday - Cheesy Chicken and Rice Wraps

This week's Recipe:

These are great! They come together quickly and its nice to be able to freeze them into individual wraps for an easy re-heat snack!

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Wraps

by All About the Haleys
 

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cubed
2 c. water
1 can of Rotel or 1 c. salsa
1 pkg. taco seasoning
2 c. instant rice, uncooked
8 oz. Velveeta (1/4 brick)
Corn (optional)
20 flour tortillas (fajita size)
Lettuce
Sour cream
Shredded cheese

In a skillet or saucepan, combine chicken, water, Rotel/salsa, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Add rice and simmer on low for 5 minutes. Add Velveeta and corn, and stir occasionally until melted.

Place mixture in a tortilla and top with lettuce, sour cream, and extra cheese (if desired). You could also add taco sauce. Wrap the tortilla and enjoy!

To freeze, simply wrap each folded tortilla individually in tin foil and place in gallon-size freezer bag.

______________________________

Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you! I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!

Read More

Wednesday SayingZ | Smile

{ This week's quote }
Let your smile change the world
but don't let the world change your smile!

DOWNLOAD LINK

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you! 

I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! I also create pieces of wordart with these quotes each week and offering them to you as a freebie!!!  Feel free to use them in your scrapbook layouts or just print them out for great wall decor!

If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

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Family History TuesdayZ | Pretending to be Sick

Here is this week's journal prompt :

My Memories :

I guess I’m a little boring - but no, I do not remember pretending to be sick so I could stay home from school.  I was quite a bit of a goodie-two-shoes kind of person and I would have felt way too guilty to actually sluff school! I'm pretty sure that there was a few times that I wanted to be sick and not go to school, but I never did it.

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

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High/Low + Freebie | November 9, 2012

My LOW this Week is that I have struggled with motivation and focus. Its made it hard to complete anything. Hopefully I can get over it!  :)

My HIGH for this Week is that I have really enjoyed the Fall Weather this week. It's been really nice and as I have walked my daughter to and from school, I have just been able to revel in the beauty. It's really nice to just stop and look at the beauty of the world. I don't do that enough.

I have a freebie for you today - the next in my ChibiZ Collection - meet MINNIE MOUSE!

Make sure you also head on over to MY FACEBOOK PAGE and make sure you like the page, so you can get the EXCLUSIVE ChibiZ Freebie of MICKEY MOUSE! Have a great weekend!

DOWNLOAD LINK

High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

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Recipe Thursday - Crock-pot Ravioli Casserole

This week's Recipe:

This was another okay recipe. It's always nice to have something cook in the crockpot, but I accidentally added too much italian seasoning and so it was a little too-seasoned. But it was still okay.

Crock-pot Ravioli Casserole

by Becoming Betty
 

1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt/pepper
10 oz. frozen spinach, thawed (I used fresh spinach)
16 oz. bowtie pasta, cooked
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded

Brown ground beef with onion and garlic.

Put in crock-pot and add sauce, tomatoes and seasonings.

Cook for 6-7 hours on low.

Add the last 4 ingredients during the last 30 minutes of cooking and turn crock-pot to high.

______________________________

Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you! I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!

Read More

Wednesday SayingZ | Eat Well

{ This week's quote }
EAT WELL
laugh often * love much

DOWNLOAD LINK

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you! 

I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! I also create pieces of wordart with these quotes each week and offering them to you as a freebie!!!  Feel free to use them in your scrapbook layouts or just print them out for great wall decor!

If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

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Family History TuesdayZ | Historical Event

Here is this week's journal prompt :

My Memories :

I can think of a few things that are definitely history-making events, but the one that I think of the most is September 11, 2011.  I don’t really have the words to express how I feel about this day.  I was pregnant with my first baby and really sick. I was laying on the couch and decided to turn on the tv and there it was. Terrorists attacking my country.  Such tragedy. The one thing I do remember is completely loving the way our country came together. I hated that we had to have a tragedy to come together that way, but so glad that even if it was only for a little while - that we all came together - it didn’t matter who we were, we were Americans and it brought us all together. I hope that we can find that again as a country. That we will remember. I I hope we all remember not to judge one another - we all have our struggles, our weaknesses, and we do have our strengths. Let’s remember that we are all children of our Heavenly Father and we should just love each other for who we are. I’m so grateful to those who serve our country and I hope we all can make it better every day.

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

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Book Review: You Heard It Here First

You Heard it Here First 
by Erin Ann McBride

Book Review by DeDe Smith

Purchase the E-Book
Please visit the author's website

From the moment girl-next-door Haley McAdams met America's Favorite News Reporter Camden Morrison, her life hasn't been the same. Suddenly she has everything she ever wanted- love, money, and career success. But can she handle the pressures that come with it?

One day she's a financial blogger, the next, a TV expert on a political scandal. Her on-air epiphanies, and liberated writing style have landed some powerful men in hot water, and there are consequences to pay.

Just as her career takes off, so does her love life. But the memories of her past make it hard to accept the good things around her. Is her rich and famous boyfriend the real reason for her new success? Does he really love her? Or does he have an ulterior motive too?

Haley is a good girl from a loving family and traditional values, but she knows her way around the world of finance and politics. She may be virtuous, but she is not naive. And if there is one thing she has learned, it is that money is the root of all evil.

This book was such a surprise for me! I had the opportunity to review it and so I took it, but because it was a political fiction - I didn't expect to love it as much as I truly did!  Personally, politics have never been my thing - I leave that for my husband. But this book drew me in with its characters, plot, and moral values. I loved the strong, modern woman that Haley is and enjoyed the special looks into her character, her personality and into her thoughts. She just felt like a "real" woman - one that everyone can relate with. I loved the very likeable male character and their love story. I enjoyed the conversations, the adventures, the mysteries, and even the political situations in this story.  Even in the midst of moving, I couldn't wait to pick it up at the end of the day to read. It was the perfect book full of romance, family values, independence, and living your dream.

You Heard it Here First is a well-written, engaging novel that left me wanting more and I can't wait to get my hands on more Haley Jo books! I sure hope another one comes soon!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author and was compensated for review, but this did not influence my opinion.

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MyMemories | DSD

Happy Digital

Scrapbook Day!

I hope you are gearing up for a fun weekend of scrapping and fun throughout the Scrapbook World.

I'm excited to be participating in this MyMemories Blog Train.
Each of the participating designers will be offering a FREE KIT this weekend through their individual MM Stores, so you won't want to miss out!

Remember you don't have to have the MM Software to use these kits - they will work on any of your digital scrapping programs. But its a great time to purchase this fabulous software if you would love an easy-to-scrap program! If you do want to purchase, please GO HERE and make sure you use the code: STMMMS61543. That will get you $10 off the software, plus $10 to use in the store for scrapping supplies! Awesome right?

Make sure that you check out the MM Blog and the MM Facebook Page this weekend because they will be giving away lots of prizes and you'll want to be a part of it!

Head on over to my MM Store!

Please come join my Facebook Page for exclusive freebies, challenges, conversation, and announcement of new products! The more likes I get - the more I put up new freebies!


Okay, so on to the Train!!!!
Check out the MM Blog for all the links to the designers' blogs to see what they have for you and then click on over to their links to the MM Store to get FREE KITS! Fun Fun Fun!

Your next stop on the train is Ronda's Scrap Bits!


I am offering my Fall CircleZ as a free kit this weekend, from now until 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, November 4th! If you haven't gotten this kit yet, you won't want to miss it! It's a fun little kit to use for all of your fun Fall Adventures!

**Click the preview to go to it in the store.

Have fun and please feel free to leave your comments, questions, and suggestions by leaving a comment! I love to hear from you!

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