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American Hero Clothing Bag Review and Giveaway

Posted on April 13, 2012 by HotWife

I’m excited to introduce you to American Hero Clothing and Accessories. A company ready to bling out your love for your American hero. Michelle is ready to bling out your pride whether you are a firefighter wife, military wife or both

American Hero Clothing carries some unique products and I was really attracted to the styles. The shirts she has are right up my alley. They have longer length football style t’s, soft thermal hoodies and even maternity shirts. But I’m here to tell you about the bag I received because it’s so stinking cute.

I’m not a traditional pink girl. Which might be why I’m randomly attracted to really cute pink products. I also get a lot of raves when I do have them because they stand out a lot with my typically dark clothes. I’m getting better with my clothes choices but it sure does make cute accessories pop if I’m wearing boring dark clothes.

Michelle said she had a new pink bag she’d gotten in and I jumped on the offer to review it. It turned to be an incredible choice. It’s not just pink, it’s bright fuschia, which is my favorite color of pink. She let me pick what bling saying I wanted and I chose I love my Fireman, of course.

As you can see it’s a quilted bag. I was immediately hit with the cute, polka-dot bow. Dots get me every time and I didn’t know it was going to have this little bow on it. The bag is approximately 12.5″ x 15″ and the base is 5.5″ wide. This is a very large purse or a medium size tote. I love the size. I have a small purse and what I’d consider some medium size purses. But nothing large that I can really toss some extras in when I know I’m going out for the day or weekend.

One of the things I immediately thought of with this bag is how many electronics I can fit in it. Now I have a huge 17″ laptop so that doesn’t carry anywhere comfortably. It’s 4 years old and heavy. But hubbies Kindle Fire and my kids laptops will fit very nicely in this bag. In fact I’m already considering how I can sneak hubbies Fire in my bag so he’ll forget to take it to work with him. He never forgets the darn thing. I need my own Kindle so I’ll read more books.

However this bag will work perfectly for taking to my kids sporting events. The wrestling tournaments specifically. Inside there are two open pockets and a zippered area. The smaller pocket holds my old school droid so I’m sure it will hold almost any smartphone. I like that it will fit in the elasticized pocket so it’s more likely to be in that pocket when I grab for it. Since I am used to carrying a smaller purse this will fit the need of carrying a purse AND a tote that I’ve been doing. While I like my electronics, I’m still an old school pen and paper gal. So I love the fact that it’s large enough to hold a notebook or two and even a real book on top of that. There is still nothing cooler than a real book, no matter how much easier it is to download. If we want to talk about the gingham then you’ll get a sentimental response. We didn’t find out the sex of either child. After my first was born I sewed a full crib ensemble in pink gingham. I’m a sucker for gingham.

Since it’s larger I’m happy that the top zips. This will also help at sporting events. There are quite a few times that the bleachers aren’t enclosed and I’m paranoid of dropping my things down to the floor below. If my bag is zipped and everything is in that one bag, then my worries are all on watching everyone on the mat. As it should be. The stitching is very well done and I did some tugging on things. The handles are a great length so I can rest my arm on the bag while I have it on my shoulder.

I’m excited to take this bag to the firewives bunco tonight and show it off. I’ll have to leave some extra comments (or hopefully they will) after I get some raves.

I’d like to thank American Hero Clothing and Accessories for sending me the bag to review but most of all for sponsoring this giveaway for all of you! They are giving away one product of your choice from the site. Yes, you heard that correctly. You are getting carte blanche to order an item on the site to be blinged out with your choice of sayings. If you are not a rhinestone fan than they will imprint for you. I was not compensated monetarily for this post, only given the product to constructively review.

The fun part! Giveaway time!

This contest is open to US residents 18 and over. Please complete the mandatory entry or your other entries will be null and void. This giveaway closes at midnight EST on 4/21.

Mandatory entry: Go to American Hero Clothing and Accessories and search out the product and bling statement you’d want. Leave a comment here saying your choice. It’s that easy! Then I have quite a few extra ways below you can enter and improve your chances. Rafflecopter makes it super easy for you to enter. GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Free Kindle Download Today:

Posted on March 17, 2012 by HotWife

I just wanted to send a quick shout out that this book is free for your Kindle (or kindle app) today. I downloaded it and read a couple of pages real quick. It looks like it will be interesting to read and have hubby read…since the kindle fire is actually his lol Then I can get a review of it up.

But for today only Dangers, Toils, and Snares: Confessions of a Firefighter is free to download. So go grab it.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Everyone stay safe. Like I said on the facebook fanpage this morning, kiss and spoil your DD or hide money in your pocket for your cab

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Rekindled Pride Dog Collar and Tug Toy

Posted on February 6, 2012 by HotWife

Are you ready for the cute pictures of my gorgeous dogs? Are you sure you are ready for them? Ok, you can stop begging.

Back in December you may remember I did a review for the Rekindled Pride Christmas Stocking.

But the Christmas stocking wasn’t the only item Rekindled Pride sent me. They also sent a dog tug toy for my Lab and a collar for my Maltese. Hmm, it just dawned on me that we have a Maltese…Maltese cross…association. Why have I never thought of that? Maybe because she’s not the manliest of animals. But don’t judge her for her 6 pound frame.

Judge her for how well she pulls off this firefighter dog collar. (Yes, she did gladly pose for this pic) I was a little worried about the weight of the collar on her. She really is a tiny thing. But it fit just fine and she’s perfectly comfortable in it. Even though she loves to dress up in her pink, girly outfits, she’s a tomboy. I love the fact that when we go camping we now have something easily washed up. Because take a guess who the first dog is to get in the mud and water? Definitely NOT my prissy Lab. I’m looking forward to the easy cleanup at the river this year. Plus I am not worried about it getting ruined when I clean it, this thing is definitely going to last her lifetime and more.

I’m impressed by the stitching. My Mom sews and used to make a lot of clothes when I was growing up. In fact she made all of my dance dresses in high school. I was only ever mediocre at sewing. These lines are very straight and that impresses me. The straight stitches give it a very crisp, finished look.

Then we have the fun firehose tug toy. After I got pictures taken and the Lab spent a few weeks playing with it, there was a list of people that wanted to see it first hand. Off to the station it’s gone. I’ll have to really keep an eye on it

My Lab is not a chewer so I wasn’t worried much about it getting torn up or even having to test that out. BUT for some reason she thinks it’s fun to nibble at the seams of this tug toy. Of all the times to get a new habit. She’s eleven for goodness sake.

With that said, the tug toy is standing up well to the test. There is some slight unraveling happening, but it is from the hose ends themselves and it has stopped well before the seams. Again, I’ll comment on the quality of the sewing. These seams aren’t going anywhere. The pull loop is really stoutly attached. Hubby and the old girl can fight to their hearts content.

The entire toy is made from hose. The base is a stuffed and the nice, big loop is flat. For those of you that do play tug with your dog, the 7″ loop is nice and roomy even for hubby’s hand. It’s not fun to get bit while playing tug as they go for a better grip. If your hand is too close you get in the regripping procedure. It also doesn’t dig into your hand while pulling. Which is a major plus if she wants me to play tug for longer. If it’s digging into my hand then I give up early. Mom’s a poor sport.

My lab was uncooperative with the picture taking so Sweet Pea offered to help again. She looks guilty because I set her on the coffee table for the picture and she knows she’s not allowed up there. Mean mommy, I know lol She’s a few weeks past a grooming appointment so excuse the scruff she’s got going on.

All of us in the family love the products sent to us by Rekindled Pride. You won’t be disappointed with their quality.

Categories : Everyday, Shop

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Rekindled Pride Christmas Stocking Review

Posted on December 17, 2011 by HotWife

It’s always flattering to have a company find me on the internet and I love to chat with other business owners. I’m very excited to bring this review to you for multiple reasons. Let me tell you a little about the company first and you’ll see a couple of those reasons right away.

Rekindled Pride was started by two professional firefighters in Idaho. We all know that gear can only be used for so long before it becomes unsafe. Instead of it ending up in a landfill or wherever disposal happens, they have chosen to give it a new life and new purpose. Recycling the life of each set of bunker gear into products that will get much love. Ok, that’s cool number one. I consider where they are in Idaho to be local since it’s only a 6 hour drive down I-90 to get to them. I love local companies! That’s cool number two.

They sent me a few products to review, but Christmas being right around the corner I’m going to rave at you about this Christmas stocking

It’s all cleaned up and fresh smelling, sorry no smoke smell left over ladies. But what it does have is the character leftover from it’s previous duties. Each stocking will be 100% unique depending on the gear it was made with. You can’t see it on mine because my picture taking abilities are second to none (insert sarcasm), but there are subtle stains throughout the stocking and some wear marks in the fabric. It’s obvious that it’s real bunker gear and not just fabric pieced together.

I love that it has much more character and story behind it than just another cute firefighter Christmas stocking. While we don’t know any of the work done in the gear, it’s still a pretty cool tribute in itself. Makes me think of all sorts of ideas for hubbies bunker gear when it’s time to trash it. Of course, I’d have to find someone to sew for me but now we’re getting technical lol

Even the back looks great. If you were one of those people that prefers to match decor then you could fit this easily in with a country Christmas theme of blue and silver by flipping it around.

So how do you know this is actually passing the “got to have it” mark? Both my teens thought it was cool and Dad will love it. Now that is a serious recommendation beyond the fact that I love it. There’s still some time but it’s going quickly. Go run and place your order now and surprise your husband with the coolest stocking ever.

But if you wait a little bit I still recommend grabbing yours quickly. Put it away for next year and surprise him. You can plan to stuff the stocking with many things in the next 12 months. Mine was about 18″ long with an 8″ opening so you can fit many different stocking stuffers in it. That’s important for me as I love filling the stockings and I always end up buying too much stuff and can’t fit it in the stocking lol Yeah, we all have our things we’re good at.

I’m hiding this from hubby as he needed a new stocking. I’m tempted to get it embroidered on the cuff but I’ll wait and let him choose. I’m thinking gold thread would look pretty cool.

Now for a little bit of how the world got small this week with this transaction. When I replied to the email I included names of people I knew in her area and of course said where my hubby works. It’s just general practice as I figured they all take so many classes in Spokane they possibly ran into each other. NOPE, however her cousin works in my husbands dept. Not just works with, BUT is my hubbies LT. Sure you’re saying that’s quite ironic right?

When I tried to explain the connection to hubby he already knew I was talking about his LT. Umm, fail, major, major, major fail. I’ve obviously failed in training him if he’s not telling me of products he knows about. However, I could possibly not have smacked him in the head with the fact he’s supposed to pass info like this on to me. So we’ll let him get a half pass. I’ll now be hitting facebook pretty hard to make sure others don’t know of stuff I’m missing out on.

Well we ain’t stopping with just the work connection. She said she grew up in the area and named the development she grew up in, also giving LT’s wife’s maiden name. OIY, I then go into knowing she has to be related to a girl I grew up playing soccer with. I knew this girl had younger sisters. YEP, she’s the youngest. Thankfully I’ve been online for a few years so this doesn’t creep me out completely anymore, just makes me smile.

Yes, those are just two more cool things I loved about this review! I’m looking forward to testing out the dog toy and collar. I’m going to save it for a couple of weeks as I want my little girl to go to her grooming appointment before she models the collar. Also, I think I’ll be tacky and put them in the girls (dogs) stockings. How cute would Christmas morning pictures be? The Lab would love to prance around with a new toy and the Maltese is a fashionista so she’ll love the new collar. Now that you have a mental picture, you know you’ll tune in to see them soon!

Thank you to Rekindled Pride for sending me the products to review.

Categories : Family, Shop

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We’re Pink for the Cure

Posted on October 16, 2011 by HotWife

Breast cancer runs in my family. Not just my family but both sides. My aunt battled it before the age of 40. I’m 38 and she and I are not very far apart in years as she’s the big baby of the family. LOVE YOU if you somehow see this Aunt R. lolol My paternal Grandma (namesake) battled it twice and had the most aggressive type the first time. She was under 60 that first time she battled and won. 20 years later she was sadly in poor health and couldn’t fight it.

I don’t know too many people that haven’t had someone they know battle breast cancer. Which means more than numbers to me. If everyone I know has had a loved one affected by breast cancer, then the numbers are staggering. Thank goodness the survival numbers have become incredible!

Because of my family history and my increasing age my doc was all for me getting a mammogram ”early”. I had it done just a few months ago and I’m 38. I’m thankful I have an insurance plan that paid for it before the age of 40. It’s really good for women with a family history to have a baseline to compare for future mammograms. We would have paid out of pocket if necessary because we both feel it’s important with my family history.

It definitely wasn’t fun, but it didn’t hurt. Uncomfortable yes. My tech was awesome and talked me through it all. I asked a ton of questions and joked with her. I really don’t know how you would get it done if you had fake boobs, it must hurt like hell and she said they are often having to do it more than once because it’s difficult to see the. Hmm, another con for fake boobs besides the price.

This is the second year our dept has made shirts for October and Breast Cancer Awareness month. I’m not a pink girl, but I required a shirt be ordered for me each year. lol Last year they were a very light pink and I wish I’d gotten a picture at the station. This year they are an awesome hot pink as you can see above and I WILL get a pic of the guys at the station. They usually pick a day that everyone on shift wears them across the district. Hubby looked much better in the light pink, this dark pink will probably be a little much for his coloring. HENCE why I have to get pics. Yeah, I’m evil, whatever. I don’t rock the lighter pink as well, so we’re even.

We still have shirts available for purchase if you have a dept that doesn’t sell them. I will be glad to hook you up. It’s $24.95 with shipping. $20 goes to the union, with $8 going to Susan G. Komen foundation. Then $4.95 for USPS priority shipping. I’ll eat the paypal charges for the transaction. We have quite a few different sizes available, but some are in really limited quantities. So if there is a size you want I need to double check, then I will send you a paypal invoice if they can set it aside for me. I’m rocking the mens cut because they were already out of women’s large by the time my order went in. My daughter has the women’s cut and it’s very similar but has more capped sleeves. It’s the same crew neckline.

Unisex/Men’s sizes:

small
medium
large
XXL

Women’s sizes:

small
medium

Besides our dept having these shirts for sale I have a friend that is looking for shirts from all departments. If your dept sells pink shirts she is looking for you. Her Grandma is a breast cancer survivor and she wants to honor her. I get it which is why I’m here to help. If your dept is selling pink shirts for breast cancer awareness month, please, please let me know. I have a contact form and you can leave a comment here so I can get back to you. Your email address on your comment is only viewable by me so no worries you will be spammed. Please let me know asap so I can pass the info on.

Categories : Everyday, Fundraising, Remembered, Shop

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Fire Men: Stories from Three Generations of a Firefighting Family Book Review

Posted on September 15, 2011 by HotWife

Fire Men starts right off grabbing your attention in the introduction. I like that about a book, but especially an autobiography. Gary gave us a little drama, lots of action and a peak into the relationships we were going to hear more about. And believe me, I wanted to hear more.

I love the way he is passing background information about his or a family members career while not boring me with too much descriptive details. There are fun stories interjected along with tidbits of history.

I’m pretty sure I was annoying my hubby because I had to read a paragraph here and there to him. Yes, I know he’s going to read the book as well, but I don’t like giggling by myself out loud. So many of these stories are vaguely familiar and I’m sure you will start giggling out loud while you read read them.

But just a word of warning to you spouses, this isn’t a total feel good book. There are stories recounted in this book that you may want to skip over parts as they do get a little graphic. Those of us that have been the debriefing for our husbands won’t have a problem, it’s not anything we haven’t heard when they come home. But, I know there are many that have been more “sheltered” for lack of a better word and I’m not sure you’ll want to read the details. It’s worth skipping over those parts. There is also strong language used. I just want you to know it going in so it doesn’t surprise you and ruin the book for you if language bothers you.

This book kept my attention completely which is not the easiest at the moment. I loved hearing the stories. Especially those that involved two generations together. Ironically our son is the same age (13) that Gary says his son started showing interest. Even more ironically, hubby has been talking recently about having him come to hang out at the station. Our son was the victim on a drill. He was crammed in small spaces because he could fit, lowered from high places while tied down in a basket and asks constantly when they need a victim again. Haven’t seen the “switch” get clicked over with him saying he wants to do it himself, but he’s still young

I really enjoyed this memoir and highly recommend it. It was quick on the stories, not taking three chapters to get one incident described. This is a great book to pick up for your husband for Christmas. I know you don’t want to think of the holidays coming up already, but start your stash of presents right now and make it easy on yourself.

Just so you know, I did receive a digital copy of the book in order to do this review. However, you guys all know my opinions are my own and a free copy of a book won’t change that. lol

I recommend being the first of your fire family to grab a copy of Fire Men: Stories from Three Generations of a Firefighting Family. If you are looking for more stories you can go to the books website fire-men-book.com. Gary is also on twitter and facebook.

Here is a video trailer of the book.

Categories : Everyday, Family, Shop

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T-shirt Giveaway Time!

Posted on February 4, 2011 by HotWife

It’s my birthday and I wanna do it up big. I want my fanpage to explode, the blog to blow up and it would be awesome to promote the heck out of our giveaway sponsor Firefighterswives.net. Basically, I’m willing to bribe you into promoting me. It’s the American way after all

This giveaway is going to be a little bigger and even better. It’s for the vneck t-shirt for you or someone you love. I also have 5 firefighter’s wife wrist bands to give away.

To be entered, you must be following the fanpage on facebook OR subscribe to the blog (you can do so to your right). If you are already then you are entered! How easy was that? If you do both then you will have two entries.

Now for the extra ways to enter!

** go to the site and pick out your fav item and post back to tell me (1 entry)

** send an invite to the fire spouses and fire girlfriend’s on your facebook account. Tell them to leave a status update on the wall with who referred them. It’s easy. Go to the fanpage and click on the suggest to friends link under the profile picture on the page. (1 entry for each person that says you referred them)

** click “like” on the t-shirt giveaway blog post on the fanpage (1 entry)

** upload a fire picture to the fanpage (2 entries)

** add Firefighter’s Wives button to your blog/site. You can find an array of buttons at the bottom of their site. Leave a comment here to let me know where to find it. (2 entries)

** write a blog post promoting the giveaway (5 entries)

Contest ends Wednesday, February 9 at midnight PST. I’ll be drawing for 6 winners total. 1 t-shirt and 5 wrist bands. Ready, set GO!

Categories : Cheers, Shop

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Essay Contest for Firefighter Artwork

Posted on November 1, 2010 by HotWife

The artwork on fireart.com would make a great gift for any of our firefighters, but the personalized painting would be INCREDIBLE.

Take a few minutes and go write up about your firefighter for a chance to win a free personalized painting. Details are below.

[Las Vegas, Nev.] October 19, 2010 – FireArt, the premier provider of professional firefighter artwork, is offering a free customized piece of art designed to honor a firefighter just in time for the holidays.

Family members and friends can nominate a firefighter to receive the Moment of Truth by FireArt artist and retired firefighter Allan Albeitis. Valued at $500, this gallery-quality work of art portrays a firefighter battling a fire alone against the flames. It showcases the firefighter’s name, matching turnouts and equipment to make it a truly unique gift. The details are exact and yet personal, matching the firefighter’s gear down to the manufacturer, model, style and color. Their department’s identifying marks and decals are included with accuracy.

To enter to win the Moment of Truth, submit a short essay about why your firefighter exemplifies the firefighter values of courage, loyalty and strength. The essay should be less than 500 words and must be emailed to info@fireart.com by November 15. The winner will be selected by November 15 and the finished artwork will be shipped by December 15.

For questions about the essay contest or FireArt, email info@fireart.com.

About Fire Art

The fine art of Allan Albaitis is a reflection of his personal life experience as a firefighter whose career spans three decades. FireArt by Allan Albaitis celebrates not only firefighters but a personal commitment to excellence. FireArt offers limited editions as well as open edition giclees and posters.For additional information, visit www.fireart.com.

Categories : Cheers, Relationship, Shop

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One Foot In The Black Review

Posted on October 29, 2010 by HotWife

I finally set more time aside and finished One Foot In The Black by Kurt Kamm. I’m sorry I didn’t do it sooner. Just a quick disclaimer for our friends from the FTC, I was sent this book for free to read and review. HOWEVER, Kurt understands and wants me to give my honest opinion about the story. Any one that knows me or has been following this blog for even a little while knows I can only give my honest opinion): A big thank you to Kurt for the book to review, I did enjoy it.

Many times reading it I would forget that this wasn’t based on a true story. It read like an autobiography and I mean that in a good way. It kept me reading easily and the first night I read over 1/3 of the book. I got into finding out about Greg’s life and how he moved into wildland from so far across the country. I was hooked into reading more as if this was a real person’s life. A definite sign of a good book in my opinion.

I can’t vouch for all of the wildland lingo and actual training. I know enough to follow along, but not enough to test if the book is completely correct. My husband has his card, but we have it very different as far as training here locally and he’s not on the wildland team. I know that Cali is so much different because of the massive amount of wildland firefighters needed each year.

I’ll be honest in saying I had to do some skimming towards the end. I read enough to keep up with some conversations and read more than I really wanted in some parts. I don’t want to give away a big part of the book, but due to personal experiences I just found I couldn’t read it and relive it. However, I will say that I found how Greg dealt with the situation to be quite true to how I’ve seen some others work through it. His statements and thoughts to be those I’ve heard personally in my life.

I know that my husband wanted to read this book, but after reading it I know it’s not the best idea. Over-protective? Probably. It’s difficult to know if bringing up past experiences helps in the healing or hinders it. I was unsure whether to bring up the book or just ignore it in my house after reading. I did get to go a while and he mentioned it. I told him how it went and he agreed it wasn’t a good idea for him.

I do recommend this book. I really should come up with a rating scale for books as I review them. Let’s do 1-5, 5 being the best and rare to get if ever. I would definitely give this book a 4. It’s worth the purchase price and worth passing on to others to read as well. It’s a great read for both male and female alike. I believe it shows a good battle that that many will deal with when they first get hired on if they don’t have the support network in place.

Firefighting is all about family and for some it is their only family. The beginning years of a firefighter are so varied and chaotic as all the changes take place. This book did a good job of dealing with some of the uniqueness of a probie firefighter and personally showed me the chaos of starting out in wildland.

Categories : Cheers, Everyday, Shop

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