My Take:

When I first heard about The Shandle, I thought it was a cute way to help families instill good practices. When I told Jai I’d be putting a “Frog Bear Washes His Hands” handle on our commode, he just chuckled; he’s used to my various experiments for product testing. Thankfully, we never forget to wash our hands, but this product isn’t just intended for kids – it’s also intended to serve as a reminder to put the seat down, and provide a cleaner surface to touch than the toilet seat itself.

The Shandle was quick to install and sturdier than I had expected. I’m not sure if I would permanently want a handle jutting out of the commode, but it is rather nice to have a more detached surface to touch when lifting or lowering the seat, although obviously nothing attached to your toilet is going to be 100% clean.

The Shandle in action. My bathroom is under construction, hence the unfinished walls!

Giveaway time!

Our friends at The Shandle would like to give five lucky Contest Corner readers a Shandle of their own!

Here’s how to enter:

For your first entry, sign up for the Shandle Newsletter at www.theshandle.com for promotions, discounts and product news, and then come back here leave a comment on this post.

Want extra entries? Do any of the following, and leave a separate comment for each one:

• Become a fan of the Shandle on Facebook.
• Post a message on the Shandle Facebook Page
• Follow The_Shandle on Twitter and Tweet about why you would like a Shandle in your home – include a link to www.theshandle.com.
• Tweet about this Giveaway and include a link
• Post a link to this giveaway in your Facebook feed
• Post a link to this giveaway on your blog
• Leave a comment mentioning your favorite Shandle design
• Subscribe to my blog updates by entering your email into the “Subscribe” box in the sidebar
  
• Become a follower of my blog by clicking the “Follow” button in my sidebar
• Post my button on your website – just copy and paste the following code, and let me know where you put it:

Beauty and Personal Grooming is giving away a prize package of LashMantra-Eyelash Growth Serum, Malibu secret Anti-Aging Body Cream, Organic Eye Care E-book and earrings, worth $124. Click here to enter, ends November 5th.

I’m not generally a big fan of folk-infused music, so I had initially dismissed this as something I probably would not enjoy; but I was wrong. I found myself drawn into her world and charmed by her honest, sincere – and at times, utterly heartwrenching – lyrics. I also found her approach to recording to be refreshing. “Me and the twins [Her brothers, Tim and Phil Hanseroth], recorded live and to tape again (as long as it’s here we’ll use it),” Carlile says. “We used some of our classic junky old instruments and almost all of the acoustic guitar is recorded with old archtops from the 40′s and 50′s.” This lends a true authenticity and realness to the music. Carlile also teams up with several famous faces on “Give Up The Ghost” – Elton John, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, and Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls.

I was surprised and delighted with what I heard from Carlile on this record. Be sure to check out the widget above to listen to the first single from Give Up The Ghost, “Dreams”. You can also order the album on Amazon through this link.

Give Up The Ghost track listing:

Looking Out
Dying Day
Pride And Joy
Dreams
That Year
Caroline
Before It Breaks
I Will
If There Was No You
Touching The Ground
Oh Dear

Thanks to the One2One Network for inviting me to review this record!

OXO Tools is hosting a contest looking for “The World’s Biggest OXOniac” – 3 Grand Prize Winners will win a trip to New York City, $1,000 worth of OXO tools, and a starring role in OXO’s How-To videos. Click here to upload a video entry – ends December 3rd.

The cream, which is recommended for use on your hands, face, and body, utilizes coconut oil to make a thick balm perfect for thirsty skin. The kind I tried has no added fragrances, with only a natural, pleasant scent from the oils it contains. I’ve been using this on my hands a lot, because they’ve been very dried out – the cream is quite thick, and you rub a small amount into your skin and give it a few minutes to absorb. The texture is unique to this kind of balm, so you have to apply it a little differently from typical hand lotions. It’s a very rich moisturizer, almost like putting Vaseline on cracked skin; but what I love is that it doesn’t leave your hands greasy.

Because this has a different consistency than other moisturizers, it doesn’t coat your hands in the same way; so after my skin absorbs it, my hands start to feel a little dry because it doesn’t leave that slick top coating that other hand lotions do. Keep in mind, I have very dry skin and have to keep lotion on my hands all day, and each skin type will react differently. I’ve used this as both a hand and body lotion, but haven’t tried it on my face because I felt like it would be too heavy for me. I love the deep moisturizing properties of this cream, and I think it’s great as an intensive therapy for dry skin, perhaps combined with different lotions to give a bit of a topcoat if you have skin like mine. I think this will be a handy thing to have on hand for chapped, dry winter skin!

A 4 oz. container of unscented Tropical Traditions moisturizing cream currently costs $12.99. If you do decide to purchase some because of this post, I’d appreciate it if you could give me a shout-out and cite my user ID (5043098) under “Referred by”, as I am participating in their referral program.

Winner #1 is comment number 64, Deb, who said: “your button is here
http://tnshadylady.blogspot.com/2009/10/contest-corner.html” Deb is having a very lucky week – she also won a print from Loxly Gallery on Monday!

Winner #2 is comment number 42, Nad, who said: “I learned that in many cases only 1 virus particle may make you sick.”

Congratulations, winners! For more from Lysol, check out their Germ Information Center.

Celebrate With Style is holding a “Cutest Trick-or-Treater” photo contest. Click here to enter, ends November 3rd.

I just got some incredibly exciting news today. I have been chosen as one of 16 finalists in the “Delicious Moments” ConAgra Foods contest on Facebook. The person who receives the most votes will win $10,000! Click here to vote for “Submitted by Beeb Ashcroft”. The photo shown above is a screenshot of my video. One vote per person. The voting period runs now through November 9th.

Thank you so much!!!!

Thank you so much!!!!