Sarah Reviews Wendy's Pick 2 Value Menu

Wendy's has this new Value menu where you get to pick two things for $4.99

You can get one of four salads and a side (water, a frosty, a soft drink, a baked potato, chili, a jr. bacon cheeseburger or a chicken to go wrap) for $4.99.

Wendy's (through The Motherhood) was kind enough to host a lunch for some local bloggers and they let us try the Pick 2 Value Menu.

There a four salads: a BLT Cobb Salad, an Apple Pecan Chicken Salad, a Baja Salad and a Spicky Chicken Caesar Salad.

I chose a Baja Salad and a baked potato for my side.

To be fair and honest, I only picked the baked potato because 1) fries were not an option and 2) I didn't realize I could have chosen a drink.

According to Wendy's website the Baja Salad has "rich and meaty chili with fresh pico de gallo, guacamole, tortilla strips and creamy Red Jalapeño dressing."

Now, I did not use the dressing because honestly a salad with chili on top does not require extra moisture. It didn't need it. I also didn't eat the guacamole because I don't like guacamole. Other than that it was pretty tasty. As far as fast food salad's go, this one was quite good and I would eat one again.

Overall, I would say that it is a pretty good deal. The other salads looked good too.

And it is always nice to have lunch with friends.




Photos via Vicky and Kristen.

Sarah's Ultimate Family Vacation

Sponsored By


Cheerios® is giving you the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, your ultimate family vacation. As part of a paid promotion for their “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, Cheerios® is sponsoring my post today about what my ultimate family vacation would be. Read mine, Enter the Sweepstakes for a chance to actually win your own fantasy family trip or one of a bunch of other great prizes.

My Ultimate Family Vacation

What is my dream family vacation? There are so many ways I could go with this - last year my husband and spent an amazing week in California's wine country and I would do that again in a second, but that isn't really a family vacation. I dream of seeing an opera at La Scala in Milan but I'm not so sure my kids would think that is as awesome as I do. My husband wants us to all go skiing in Colorado, and that sounds great even though I've never downhill skied in my life, but is that my dream vacation? No.

My dream family vacation involves a beach - a nice sandy beach that leads to an ocean. This ocean has water that is about 88 degrees and is aquamarine. This beach resort is not crowded, but is has more than one restaurant (at least one fine dining option and one place where he kids can get burgers and chicken nuggets), multiple bars and a place where the kids can go play when the adults go to the fancy restaurant and/or bar.

I'd like a cabana that has air conditioning and two bedrooms.

I'd like wireless internet on the beach.

I am envisioning an infinity pool.



I am envisioning a pina colada.

I'd like a pillow top mattress on an over sized king. I'd like a view of the ocean from my big bed. I'd like to sleep until 10:00 am and then I'd like to roll out of bed to eat brunch on my deck.

I'd like to start this vacation tomorrow.



Don't forget to enter the “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Make a Difference Day: October 23, 2010

Do you want to make a difference?

I think a lot of us would do a lot more community service if we knew where to start.

Well, I can tell you where to start. Or at least when.

October 23.

October 23, 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of Make A Difference Day, the largest national day of community service. Held annually the fourth Saturday of October, Make A Difference Day is sponsored by USA WEEKEND and HandsOn Network, a business unit of Points of Light Institute.

HandsOn Network invites you to Get HandsOn for Make A Difference Day. This site will equip you with templates and toolkits to launch your own project or volunteer for an existing project in your area.

Earlier this year I participated in a "Do Good" day. It was one of those experiences where it only takes a few hours of time but the good feelings last for much, much longer. The Hands On Network can help you get started.

Right here in Washington D.C.:

The generationOn launch event will take place on Saturday, October 23, 2010 (9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.), Make A Difference Day, at the Extra Mile Point of Light Volunteer Pathway in the heart of Washington, D.C. Steps outside of the White House, the Extra Mile Point of Light Volunteer Pathway is the only national monument dedicated to honoring service leaders and the spirit of service in America. Hundreds of kids from across the nation will participate in a Service Walk on the Extra Mile followed by service projects where kids will be able to make their mark on their world to impact social issues. Kids of all ages will find ideas, tools, and hands-on opportunities to help them get involved and understand the issues in their communities—and to become part of the solution.

This is going to be an amazing event. If we can get our kids involved in volunteerism early we can ensure that this is a part of their life that can carry through to adulthood.

You can register here for the GenerationOn Launch and the first 250 kids that register are eligible to win an iPod shuffle!

We can change the world with service.

So can our children.



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This post was sponsored by The Points of Light Institute.

Me and Ubisoft, Ubisoft and Me

I totally forgot to tell you guys about my new friends at Ubisoft.

That is me and a Raving Rabbid.

My new friends make video games (probably why we are so close). I finally got a chance to meet them at BlogHer in New York.

We spent the entire time playing a video game where magical creatures frolic and can earn accessories.

I made the mistake of telling my daughter about this video game. She wanted me to run out and buy her one right away. Of course 1) it hasn't been released yet and 2) I can't remember the name, but I assure you (and Claudia) that it was awesome and she is going to love it.

These are the same people that make Just Dance 2 (you know, the one that hosted the MamaPop v. Cool Mom Picks dance off at BlogHer '10?).

Ubisoft makes a ton of awesome games including "Press Your Luck" (Big Money, no Whammies!) a crazy Dragon game for the Nintendo DS that my son stole from me and several games for Wii and PlayStation 3 that my husband ran off with.

He didn't really run off. He just put them somewhere in our house that I don't know about.

This was one of them.

This was another one.

Anyway, I'll be back with more on these games and more about Ubisoft once one of my family members decided to let me play.

* * *

I was selected by Ubisoft and Clever Girls Collective to be part of the Ubisoft Champions social media program. I am compensated for my participation in this program, but my reviews are solely my own and represent my honest opinions. Ubisoft and Clever Girls Collective promote Blog With Integrity.

Do Witches Make Fishes?

Do Witches Make Fishes?






My friend Jason Mayo, who is a really great person wrote a lovely children's book called Do Witches Make Fishes? Not only does this make a perfect Halloween gift, but all proceeds from the sale of this book go to The Garden Of Dreams Foundation.

Please consider helping out a worthy cause and getting a wonderful book at the same time.

BUY THE BOOK

What Makes Me Happy Now

The DivaCup has a Happiness Blog Project and they wanted to know how my view of happiness has evolved over time.

What makes me happy now that I am older?

It is sort of a loaded question isn't it? It reminds me that I am, in fact, older.

I'm not old. I'm only 37. But I'm not 16 anymore. I'm not 21 anymore. I'll never be 30 again. Sometimes I get random back pains and my eyesight is going to hell in a handbasket. I don't heal as quickly as I used to. I cannot subsist on 5 hours of sleep a night and gravity has started doing what it does to my body.

That being said, there are some really wonderful things that go along with being a grown up.

I don't have a curfew anymore.

I can afford good beer, the mid-priced olive oil and the soft toiler paper.

I never have to go to middle school again.

What makes me happy now that I am older? Some of the things are the same. Chocolate ice cream still makes me happy. I continue to love football games. Even though I am a parent, I will inevitably be deeply amused by a little kid saying a curse word. I have never stopped loving to sing - opera, folk, choral music, karaoke, whatever. It all brings me joy. I have always loved reading a good book on the beach. My friends and family still make me happy. I have never stopped liking commission checks. I savor the moment when the airplane wheels first leave the ground. I love finding the perfect pair of jeans - the ones that fit just right.

The most shocking thing of all is that I still enjoy going to loud ass heavy metal concerts all these years later. I thought I would grow out of that, but no, they still make me happy.

There are new things too. I love going out to dinner at a nice restaurant and eating whatever is on the chef's menu. Years ago this would have freaked me out. I used to be such a picky eater. Now I will try anything once.

Except snake.

I love the feeling I get when I just took a really great picture.



Since my twins were born I have learned to love silence. I don't get to experience it very often, but I can now get great pleasure out of my moments of peace.

The last thing, the thing that snuck up on me is writing. Writing used to be something I did to pass classes. I wrote because I had to. I have always loved words, and I was giddy the first time I opened up a thesaurus. Now I write for pleasure, as an exercise, for release and because I think that with my words I can make other people happy.

I guess I am a pretty easy target. Many things make me happy.

You want to know what makes me happy now? All of these things and the word "Zamboni".

Part of bringing happiness to your life is simplifying things so you can enjoy it to

the fullest. What makes you happy? How has your view of happiness evolved

over time? The DivaCup offers a simple, worry free, eco-solution to women

worldwide every month. Not a tampon, not a pad, finally a better way!

www.divacup.com. The DivaCup is donating $100 to Choralis

in the honor of "Sarah and the Goon Squad".

Nintendo Enthused

When I signed up to be a Nintendo Enthusiast I had no idea it would be so cool.

Last week I got a package from Fed Ex. I had no idea what it was.

It was this.

I had no idea what it was.

A huge copy of "Pride and Prejudice"?

Oh, it was huge. See it here next to a regulation length pencil.

I love the novel, but... weird. But wait! This was no book. It was a clever packaging. This was awesome in a box.

With slightly larger than average cat.

With two slightly larger than average cats.

My cats love this for some reason.

Anyway. The DS was awesome, but it was so much more than that. Here is what I was expecting:

I was so happy about this. I've been reading e-books for years. I probably started reading books on my Palm Pilot in 2000, maybe even 1999. From there I eventually moved on to e-reader on my iPhone, to kindle on my iPhone, to an actual Kindle.

When I found out Nintendo was releasing the "game" "100 Classic Books" I thought it would be a fantastic way to finally get around to reading all of those classics that I haven't read yet.

This is no joke. I've been on a quest to read classic literature. Since The Goon Squad was born I've read "Moby Dick", "Pride and Prejudice", "Anna Karenina", "Wuthering Heights", "A Tale of Two Cities", "Emma", "Crime and Punishment", "The Metamorphosis", "Dune", "Lolita", "A Light in August", "Ulysses" and "Heart of Darkness". This allows me to do that and make it fun.

The thing is that I thought they were going to send me the game and I would have to fight my children to use their DSs.

But Nintendo and Brand About Town had my back.

I had no need to worry. They send me a special DS. This is no DS Lite - oh no. This is a DSiXL.

Plus this one is red. Or purple. Whatever. I love it.

But that isn't the coolest part. Check this out:

Cool huh?

I am going to start with "War and Peace".

Now you see why I am enthused.