Congrats to winners of Thanks for Freedom Contest and thank you to Fujifilm SeeHere.com

Congratulations to Debi who entered the thanks for Freedom Photo Contest and runner up Alisha.

Winner: Here, my granddaughter is hugging one of her favorite veterans - her cousin Nick, who served as a US Army Ranger in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Winner receives (1) Printed Cover Story Book from Fujifilm SeeHere.com ($30 value)

Runner Up: I am thankfu for Brandon, LCPL in the USMC, who will be going to fight for our freedom in February. I am thankful that I know the difference between his love for me, and his duty.

Runner up receives (1) $5 gift certificate to Starbucks

This Thanksgiving please be thankful for our military who are fighting for our freedom to have a Thanksgiving Dinner!

Thanks for Freedom Photo Contest - Enter Today!

Enter our "Thanks for Freedom Photo Contest". Just enter a photo that shows who you are thankful for that has fought for your freedom. How do you Enter?

- Register on their website: SeeHere.com

- Visit our contest page: http://www.seehere.com/mommyandmedays/contest

- Click "Add Photos to this Album"

- Upload your photo and enter your description to include why you are thankful.

- Then just rate your picture and forward it to your friends to have them rate it as well!

- IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE UPLOADING YOUR PICTURE, YOU CAN E-MAIL IT TO MOMMYANDMEDAYS@GMAIL.COM AND WE WILL UPLOAD IT FOR YOU!

The picture with the highest ratings will win a FREE Printed Cover Story Book (8x8) worth $30 thanks to the folks at Fujifilm SeeHere.com!

(Official Rules: Contest ends Wednesday, November 25th. The picture with the most votes/highest rating will win. Picture must be your original picture and you must have copyright permission to post. www.mommyandmedays.com will not be liable for any picture used without permission. You may enter as many times as you like! have fun! Winner will be announced on Thanksgiving on www.mommyandmedays.com)

Help build homes for our troops, and also enter our "Thanks for our Freedom" Photo Contest to win a Photo Book from Fujifilm SeeHere.com

A wise man once said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." Our troops have done just that, and now its time for us to thank them and ask ourselves, "What can we do for our troops?"

With your help, together with an awesome organization called "Homes for Our Troops" and Fujifilm SeeHere.com, we can begin thanking our some of our troops who have been fighting for our freedom since September 22, 2001. Homes for Our Troops (HFOT) is a national non-profit organization that builds barrier free specially adapted homes for severely injured veterans that have returned home from Iraq and Afghanistan at no cost to the veterans, giving them back their independence and helping them and their families.

Fujifilm SeeHere.com has made a commitment through its "Home of the Free" campaign, to provide a way for you and I to help, by donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of all travel mugs, tote bags and hooded sweatshirts to the HFOT. In addition, Fujifilm SeeHere.com is donating a digital camera to every military family that receives a home from HFOT along with select photo gifts to chronicle the first year in their new homes.

What an amazing opportunity this is to help "give back" to those who have helped fight for our freedom! How can you help? Easy! Just visit Fujifilm SeeHere.com and create an account. Then upload your photos and share them with your friends. Everyone loves photo gifts for Christmas, so work on a photo project with your kids using Fujifilm SeeHere.com and order gifts for your family and friends. When you order, a portion of the proceeds will go to help build homes for our troops! (Plus, until March 31st they are offering FREE standard shipping on all photo gift items!) It really is a win, win. Its the least we can do to thank our troops for all they have done for us!

To kick it off, you can start by entering our "Thanks for Freedom Photo Contest". Just enter a photo that shows who you are thankful for that has fought for your freedom. How do you Enter?

- Register on their website: SeeHere.com

- Visit our contest page: http://www.seehere.com/mommyandmedays/contest

- Click "Add Photos to this Album"

- Upload your photo and enter your description to include why you are thankful.

- Then just rate your picture and forward it to your friends to have them rate it as well!

The picture with the highest ratings will win a FREE Printed Cover Story Book (8x8) worth $30 thanks to the folks at Fujifilm SeeHere.com!

(Official Rules: Contest ends Wednesday, November 25th. The picture with the most votes/highest rating will win. Picture must be your original picture and you must have copyright permission to post. www.mommyandmedays.com will not be liable for any picture used without permission. You may enter as many times as you like! have fun! Winner will be announced on Thanksgiving on www.mommyandmedays.com)

Home of the Free and I'm Proud of our Brave!

In case you have forgotten, today is Veterans Day! In fact, yesterday was the Marine Corps birthday! My father is a Marine veteran who served in Vietnam. I don't know much about his experiences there - he doesn't talk about it much except for some of the funny stories. But what I do know is that my father was brave and I am proud of him.

My mom and dad at the Marine Corps Ball in the 70s

I was in high school and we were studying the Vietnam War. As part of my presentation, I asked if my dad could come and speak to the class. My teacher agreed. I remember the boys in the front row of the class joking around and then saying with excitement, "Did you ever kill anyone?", and then giggling.


My father was quiet and stared them down and said, "Young man, war is not something to joke about." And the teacher quickly scolded them saying, "You never ask a veteran a question like that. You should be ashamed of yourselves."


Living in the United States, we are so lucky to have the lives that we have and live in a free country! There is so much that we take for granted on a daily basis. We get upset when we can't get our coffee at Starbucks that day, or if some guy cut us off in a lane while driving to work. Meanwhile, there are people in the world that don't have coffee to drink or decent food to eat and have to walk miles just to get water. And we must never forget that, while we are enjoying our everyday luxuries, there is a soldier somewhere in the world who is risking his or her life to fight for our freedom (to get a Starbucks coffee and drive to work, among so many other things). It's easy to take things for granted, because as the saying goes, "Out of sight, out of mind".


I challenge you today to not take things for granted. When you see a veteran, tell them "Thank You" for fighting for your freedom. Because - while you were being selfish - demanding discounts at the grocery, requesting days off work, or yelling at the Barista at Starbucks because they didn't put enough cream in your coffee, there is a man or a woman out there who has given up their freedom to enjoy everyday luxuries - so that YOU and I can.

Want to share pictures? Check out SeeHere.com

I am horrible about putting together scrapbooks and keeping my pictures in order. All of my cameras are digital now, and sharing pictures with friends and family online is the way it is now. But why not spruce up the sharing process?

Today, FujiFilm just launched their "Home of the Free" campaign on www.seehere.com. This morning I took some time to test it out and it is awesome! You can upload your pictures and create your own webpage to share with your friends and family. Your page can have different themes too, so whether you are sharing pictures from your birthday party, wedding, or summer vacation, you can pick a theme for your page to match the occasion!

There are cool photo editing features too (just in case you want to crop your ex-boyfriend or crazy relative out of a picture - just kidding). You can brighten the pictures and reduce the red eyes from the flash too.

Once your pictures are edited just the way you want, and you've picked your theme, you can share your webpage with your friends and family. When they go to your personalized URL, they can comment on the photos, rate them, download them, or even order prints online. And no worries about safety, if you want to keep your album private, you can set a password for those who you want viewing your album. Another cool feature is it can tell what kind of camera your picture was taken from and all the details (date, aperture and even the shutter speed!)

The best part is.... just for signing up today they are giving away 100 free 4x6 prints of your pictures! Check it out at www.seehere.com and create an account!

Check out the webpage album I made this morning: http://www.seehere.com/kayleasmom/pics

Ruth Chris Steakhouse - $185, Primas in Miami - $425, Getting Your Credit Card Number Stolen - Priceless

We all laugh at the CitiBank commercials on identity theft and stolen credit cards, thinking, "This would never happen to me but oh man this is funny!" I used to laugh at them, until now. I am living the reality of a CitiBank commercial...

Over the weekend my husband and I noticed that our available credit on our credit card was down to $56 dollars? We knew that couldn't be right because we just made a $400 payment to it and we had at least $350 already available when we did that. And we had vowed not to use our credit cards the rest of the month.

First thing Monday morning we check the bank only to find a charge for $185 at Ruth Chris Steakhouse. Wow. I've heard of Ruth Chris but never had the luxury of dining there. Immediate thought: "What tramp did you take to Ruth Chris?" OK, get thee behind me Satan, I know my husband wouldn't cheat on me, and besides he doesn't like fancy steakhouses, he would maybe splurge and go to Chili's. Now that my evil thoughts had left it was time for my husband and I to figure out what happened.

Monday morning was spent on the phone with VISA and our bank back and forth disputing charges, canceling credit cards, ordering new ones, etc etc. Only to find even more charges the next morning that needed disputing. It has been a whirlwind as Chelsea Lately would say. Our credit card number and info was stolen to make a phony card. (We didn't know because we still have our cards!) Our perpetrators used the card to go to Ruth Chris Steakhouse ($185), Prima's Restaurant in Miami ($425) and Home Depot ($$$$$). They had fun at least.... I wish they'd have checked with us first, we need a new dishwasher!

If your credit card gets stolen, here is a link to some things you should do: http://www.creditunionsonline.com/news/2009/How-to-Recover-from-Stolen-CreditDebit-Card-Numbers.html

Don't laugh it could happen to you!

Nominate a Hero in your community for a FREE Celebrity Cruise!

All of us have someone in our lives that we think is a hero. Whether your hero is your next door neighbor who cuts your grass while you are gone or the grocery store attendant who paid for your groceries when you forgot your wallet. Maybe your community hero is the school crossing guard, a preschool teacher or a doctor who offers free dental work one day a month. Whoever your hero is, this is your chance to let them know! You can nominate your local hero to win a FREE CRUISE from Common Kindness, Celebrity Cruises and Cabot Creamery Cooperative.

That's right! Through October 31st you can nominate someone to win their “Community Celebrity Award” at www.CommonKindness.com. The prize? An all-expense 5-night cruise in the Caribbean!

This contest is to honor REAL celebrities in everyday life who improve their communities with little thought of personal recognition. The reward usually resides in the good work they do, not in the recognition they receive. However, these shining stars should be applauded for their selfless service! “CommonKindness is committed to helping people make a difference in their communities, and we are thrilled to partner with Cabot Creamery Cooperative and Celebrity Cruises to honor these ‘everyday heroes’ who passionately set such a shining example,” said Calandra Cruickshank, president of CommonKindness.

The contest will award 7 individuals a cruise, including airfare for themselves and guest, onboard a Celebrity Cruise ship. Valued at approximately $3,244, the cruise is scheduled for January 2010. Nominations are being accepted at CommonKindness.com through 11:59 pm October 31st, 2009. Winners will be announced on November 12th, 2009.

Have you checked out www.CommonKindness.com yet? It really is amazing and its FREE! You can save money every day by clipping coupons from their website, while at the same time support your favorite charities! Every time you clip a coupon, money is donated to a charity of your choice. CommonKindness offers consumers thousands of national and local coupons and brand discounts. People can save an average of $1,300 annually with CommonKindness. Talk about an economic stimulus plan!

Now is your chance to give back Nominate a Local Celebrity Hero today at www.CommonKindness.com!