In just a few short weeks, I'll be celebrating ten blissful years of marriage. These last ten years have brought us new jobs, new cities, three beautiful children and for me? Extra weight. Through it all, we haven't had a lot of opportunities to sneak away and celebrate. So when Susan suggested that I use my $50 gift cards from TJ Maxx to look for something to wear to a romantic dinner with my husband, I nodded my head and headed out the door.

Earlier this year, I attended a gathering for Mom-bloggers called Camp Baby, put on by the fine folks at Johnson and Johnson. Our final morning, we were treated to a sample-a-thon from many of the brands that we’d learned about during the presentations the previous day. Armed with an envirosac and the promise that J&J would pay to ship home any goodies, I hit the tables with a vengeance.

When Susan invited me to share my favorite finds on BlogHer's new Beauty Hacks, I immediately got out my Sharpie and the stack of Sephora, Bliss and Benefit catalogs that I hoard. With a glass of wine in one hand I flipped through the dog-eared pages, pausing every few seconds to circle must-try products.

I read The Spiderwick Chronicles to my eight-year-old daughter last fall. We both enjoyed the series, and poured over the illustrations in the companion book, Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around YouSince we both enjoyed the books so much, we were looking forward to seeing the film version. With the amazing CGI that many fantasy films employ these days, we both looked forward to seeing some of our favorite creatures brought to life on the big screen.

All through my school years, I was in band. I started off playing concert drums, and when I hit junior high, switched to "the bells" because the music teacher always gave the snare drum parts to the boys. By my sophomore year in high school, I had given up instrumental music entirely - and while I don't regret giving up playing the glockenspiel, I do regret never returning to the drums, and letting myself be pushed away from music.