This song is dedicated to those who feel all alone, to those experiencing troubled relationships, to those with health problems, to those going through recovery, to those feeling overwhelmed by responsibility, and to those like me who just need to be reminded from time to time!   He is always with us and He lights up the sky!

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “Get the code here…” at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way for everyone to get even more traffic to their blog.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

Sara at Our Breezy Beach Life lives in Florida with her husband and young daughter who they consider the most precious gift they’ve ever been given. Sara works full time but is able to work two of those days from home. She shares personal stories in her blog as well as pictures of her family and recipes such as Monkey Bread and a frozen strawberry dessert that looks so yummy.

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Alexandra at Ma, what’s for dinner? lives in Connecticut with her husband and three young sons. Alex enjoys cooking with her children and hopes that her site and cookbooks will be a catalyst for other families to cook and bond together in the kitchen. Her cookbook, Ma, what’s for dinner?, has kid-friendly recipes and 15% of all proceeds benefit Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), the number one genetic cause of infant death.

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Karen at Crazy Mama Karen has three children, ages four, three, and one.  She and her husband work opposite shifts, so her days are long and crazy but she wouldn’t have it any other way!  Karen loves to spend time with her family, bake, try new things, read, and write on her blog.  She enjoys writing about life stories, lessons learned, tips, crafts, product reviews and giveaways as well.

Now that you know about these 3 wonderful blogs, it’s time for you to join in! Add your link below and we’ll see you back here every Friday! And don’t forget, you can grab the code to share the link list on your blog too.

All three hostesses appreciate followers through GFC and Twitter, and we’ll follow you back – just leave a comment with your URL for GFC.  I haven’t been able to follow everyone back because of not having the URL.

Have a great weekend, everyone!  For those of you in the US, hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend with family &/or friends!

There are a lot of people who are having a hard time right now.  Maybe they are out of work and are wondering how they’re going to feed their children.  We know of several during the past year or so who have gone into work to a job they’ve had a long time, only to find out they no longer had a job.  And think of those down on the coast who might need an offshore injury lawyer.  There are also those who are grieving the loss of a loved one and those who are separated from their loved one who is in the military.

As we go about our daily life and encounter people, we don’t know what they’re going through.  A smile, a kind word, a thoughtful gesture or a random act of kindness might make a difference in their day.  We never know how some little thing we do might help someone having a hard day!

Did you realize that many Americans suffer from lower body pain?  One source said that 80% of Americans suffer from that type of pain.  I had no idea the percentage was that high.   I also found out that Dr. Scholl’s has some affordable solutions to help alleviate pain.  Their line of Dr. Scholl’s Pain Relief Orthotics are specially designed insoles for all-day pain relief in the feet and lower body.  They have different types of insoles which provide the following types of relief:

• Arch Pain Relief
• Arthritis Pain Relief
• Back Pain Relief
• Heel Pain Relief
• Knee Pain Relief

Dr. Scholl’s has given me the opportunity to review three of their products for Arch Pain Relief, Back Pain Relief, and Arthritis Pain Relief.  My favorite are the ones for arch pain relief.  I have higher arches, need arch support, and have some shoes that don’t have good arch support.  The added arches work great and are adjustable so I can get the amount of arch support I need!

Dr. Scholl’s has a new Facebook Page where you can find information on products, pain, treatment options, and even coupons.  “Yay!” about the coupons.  So many of us are using coupons nowadays.  Just go to “Challenge” on their Facebook site.

* I was not compensated monetarily for this article and review.  The review is strictly my opinion.

We had some of the juiciest and sweetest watermelon recently. It was the best we’ve had in a while. This time of year is when fresh produce is at it’s peak in flavor. This week, I’m including a new recipe great for summer when fresh corn is available.

MONDAY:  Chicken tenders, Sauteed Yellow Squash in Herb Butter (new family favorite!), salad

TUESDAY:  Leftover chicken tenders, Fresh Corn Salad, fresh tomato wedges drizzled with olive oil, salt & pepper

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Fresh Corn Salad:

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups fresh corn, kernels cut off the cob
• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Miss all ingredients in a large bowl.  Season to taste.  Salad can be served over a bed of greens.

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WEDNESDAY:  Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli

THURSDAY:  Leftover Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli

FRIDAY:  Chicken & Bean Nachos with avocados

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “Get the code here…” at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way for everyone to get even more traffic to their blog.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers!
We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

Tatum at Tatum’s Family Reviews is a stay-at-home mom to three children, and she and her husband have a strong devotion to family and their kids. She has a chronic illness that she views as a blessing rather than a curse. Tatum hosts a lot of giveaways (and has some great back-to-school giveaways going now!)

The Dinner For Two Project was inspired by the blogger’s mom – it is about “exploring and exploiting the fulfilling potential of food and easy entertaining within intimate relationships to enhance and strengthen those ties by creating special shared experiences.” There are a lot of great recipes you could make with someone you care about to enhance your relationship.

Jen at Born 2 Impress is mom to a little girl, and runs an Etsy store where she sells handmade baby accessories like knit hats adorned with flowers. She hosts tons of giveaways – and be sure and check out her special events, including the Mommy & Me Born 2 Impress event that ends next week and the Everything Home event that starts in September!

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When you have your own business, you have to think of everything from advertising to exit signs.  There are the regular monthly expenses such as rent, utilities, and insurance, of course, but then there are all the little details that can add up.

When we had our business years ago, we needed display cases and were fortunate enough to get them from a jewelry store going out of business.  But then we also needed a cash register which we had to buy new, so that was a considerable expense.

If you are thinking of starting your own business, do some brainstorming.  I would suggest making a comprehensive list of everything you will need.  Then check around for the best prices!

Health Insurance has changed so much during the past few years.  I remember going to the doctor ten years ago and just paying my co-pay.  Insurance covered pretty much everything else.  That doesn’t happen nowadays.  It’s a good idea to check around with several insurance companies such as Blue Advantage and others, compare rates and coverages, and then try to make an educated guess which insurance is right for you.

Here is a simple way to reduce the amount of sugar in Kool-Aid with a natural sweetener, stevia.  We made Kool-Aid this way a lot this summer, and our college-age son liked it.  So it passed the test!

INGREDIENTS:

*1 small package of dry Kool-Aid mix
*1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar (or 1 tablespoon works fine)
*6 “KAL spoons” of KAL Pure Stevia Extract powder

A blogger friend of mine has had a lot of trouble with her laptop which she purchased at a well-known retailer.  She’s so glad she took out warranty insurance when she bought it because that has covered all of the repair costs.  I guess for those getting a laptop, taking out a warranty or getting some laptop insurance is something to at least consider.  You never know when the same thing might happen that happened to my friend.