National Medical Transcription Week 2013 Celebration

In addition to blogging here at Precisely Mine, I'm also a medical transcriptionist (or medical language specialist) and have been for about 11-1/2 years now. May 19-25, 2013, was National Medical Transcriptionist Week and the girls and I celebrated all week long.  In case you're unfamiliar with what a medical transcription actually is or does, well a medical transcriptionist is an allied health professional who deals in the process of transcription, or converting voice recorded reported as dictated by physicians or other healthcare professionals, into text format. 

I wanted to start the week off in a fun way so I made each one of my co-workers a gift bag with many of the items inside donated by some amazing sponsors, most of which I've worked with as a blogger in the past. I used the reusable Chic Sacs donated by Isn't This Clever as the gift bags and filled them with the Floaty Pens donated by Anne Taintor, the plush dolls donated by GIANTmicrobes, the macaroons donated by Hail Merry, and the lotion bars donated by Glimmer Glow Body Products, LLC. I also put a free product coupon into each gift bag from my own collection of coupons (for Purex, Wholly Guacamole, or Soft Scrub products) and some of my co-workers donated items as well. The gift bags were a huge hit around the office. 

On Tuesday, we all pitched in and ordered pizza for lunch from Giovanni's Pizza. My co-workers and I are very frugal gals so we used some buy one get one free coupons for the pizza (that we got from our local Money Saver Books), saving everyone a few bucks.We don't do it very often so it was nice having lunch with my co-workers.  

On Wednesday, one of my co-workers treated us to some donuts and fried croissants from Scent From Heaven Bakery. She even thought to bring in a gallon of milk which made my fried croissant even more yum. If you haven't had a fried croissant before, you are seriously missing out!  

On Thursday, we did a random drawing for some prizes. Everyone got something. There were a couple of cookbooks, a couple of decorative pictures, some lotions, and many other cool things. I got a Solar Rose Garden Light that was donated by one of my co-workers. It is charged by the sun during the day and automatically illuminates at night. I was really hoping to get this anyway. I put it in one of my bigger flower pots on my deck.  

On Friday, some of my co-workers brought in snacks for everyone to enjoy. Something new that I hadn't tried before was Cake Mix Cookies. They were wonderful and the co-worker who brought them in said they were so simple to make and she even shared her recipe. I'll definitely be making these soon. The recipe calls for a devil's food cake mix but I think any cake mix would work. I'm thinking red velvet!

Anyway, I hope all of my co-workers had a good time during Medical Transcription Week 2013. I thought it was a lot of fun. Hopefully next year we can think of some more things to do to add to the fun and hopefully the gift bags will be packed with lots more items. I especially want to thank the below sponsors who donated items for this year's gift bags. You made my co-workers and I happy, happy, happy! 

 Isn't This Clever 

 Anne Taintor

 GIANTmicrobes

 Hail Merry

 Glimmer Glow Body Products, LLC

Birthday Cookie Giveaway

At Cookie Gift Baskets, they believe birthdays should be celebrated with cookies and not cakes. They have everything from fresh-baked colorful cookie bouquets to giant birthday cookies that are just as pretty as flowers but much tastier. Their hand iced bouquets are created from sugar shortbread cookies and come in many different designs and most of their designs can be personalized. Their giant cookie cakes are big enough to share (if you want to).  Because they want everyone to have the opportunity to enjoy their cookies, they also make sugar-free cookies. They also feature a great selection of cookies in festive boxes and tins. They offer shortbread, chocolate chip, sugar cookies, peanut butter, oatmeal raisin, snickerdoodle, M&M, white chocolate chip, chocolate pecan and more! No matter what you pick from Cookie Gift Baskets, it's sure to be a big hit.  

Giveaway

Cookie Gift Baskets is holding a contest where TWO lucky winners are going to win a birthday cookie arrangement (up to a $75 value) from this Birthday Cookie Gift page. Click here for the official giveaway rules. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter the contest.  Giveaway sweepstakes is open to U.S. residents in the continental states (e.g. lower 48) and only to those 18 years old or older. Mandatory task must be completed to enter this giveaway. Giveaway ends at midnight EST on June 2, 2013, and winners will be notified via e-mail and will have 3 days to respond.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review of Strawberry Almond Macaroons from Hail Merry

I've reviewed both chocolate and blonde macaroon from Hail Merry in the past and I was recently given the opportunity to review their strawberry almond macaroons. Hail Merry was also kind enough to donate some macaroons for some gift bags I made for my co-workers for Medical Transcription Week. These will be perfect, healthy snacks to keep at their desks. There is a wonderful story behind Hail Merry's products and you can read that here.

The strawberry almond macaroons are Hail Merry's newest dessert snack sensation, made with hints of sun ripe strawberries and exotic vanilla, and always made with pure ingredients, including organic shredded coconut, organic maple syrup, natural raw almond flour, organic extra virgin coconut oil, natural raw almond butter, organic freeze dried strawberries, pure Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, and sea salt. They are gluten-free and vegan. Dehydrating them at low temperatures helps protect the extra virgin coconut oil and the natural raw almond flour, which is what made them literally melt in my mouth. To put it simply, they are absolutely divine! However, they were firm and didn't crumble to pieces when picking them up. They had a very wonderful strawberry flavor but you can definitely taste the other ingredients as well. These are perfect snacks to leave at your desk, throw in your purse, or take along in the car. 

Hail Merry doesn't just carry macaroons, but they carry miracle tarts, grawnola, nuts and seeds as well. You can always purchase Hail Merry products on their website but you can also find them in stores. You can use Hail Merry products in recipes as well. If you want to connect with Hail Merry, you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. They also have a blog, as well as a newsletter. When you sign up for the newsletter, you'll receive exclusive special offers and discount codes, delicious raw, vegan, and gluten-free recipes, health news and informative articles, a chance to enter giveaways, and great tips and links regarding a healthy lifestyle. And if you sign up for their newsletter by May 28, 2013, you'll be entered for a chance to win free snacks for a year, delivered monthly to your home or office. 

And you gotta love the Hail Merry Mantra!

For those who seek Purity, Hail Merry

For those who seek to Love More, Hail Merry

For those who seek to Nurture, Hail Merry

For those who seek to Inspire, Hail Merry

Lotion Bar Review From Glimmer Glow Body Products, LLC (And a Giveaway)

Glimmer Glow Body Products, LLC is a small startup company that specializes in handmade bath and body products, such as bath salts, body butter, lip scrubs, lotion, lotion bars, soap, and more.

I had the opportunity to review a Glimmer Glow Body Products, LLC lotion bar in lemon scent. Each lotion bar comes in its own little tin, which could definitely be reused for something else when the lotion is gone. The tin was easy to open and close but it fit snugly so as to not come off when I didn't want it to. The first thing I noticed when opening the tin was a nice pleasant lemon scent. I liked that the lotion bar was in a fun heart shape as well but I figured that the first time I used the lotion, it would loose its shape, but it is much stronger than it looks because to my surprise it didn't loose its shape at all. The lotion absorbed in my skin very nicely and left it feeling nice and soft and moisturized with a pleasant lemon scent. I've been especially using my lotion bar on one of my elbows which is kind of rough feeling and it's doing a nice job at softening it up. It didn't leave behind a sticky or greasy feeling. Also, my skin is extremely sensitive and this lotion bar did not cause any reaction whatsoever.

The Glimmer Glow Body Products, LLC lotion bars come in many different scents, including pineapple, peach, peppermint, tangerine, and winter wonderland. They would make great stocking stuffers, party favors, gift basket fillers, etc. They are small enough that you can carry them in your pocket, put them in your purse, desk drawer, etc. I'm surprising each of my co-workers with a lotion bar next week that I'm putting in gift bags for Medical Transcription Week and I thank they'll love them. (Big thanks to Jamie for donating these lotion bars for this event, which I'll tell you more about after next week).

Since, like I said, Glimmer Glow Body Products, LLC is just a startup company, the website isn't quite ready yet but if you'd like to talk to Jamie about placing an order, you can email her at jamiejoylotionsoap@yahoo.com or message her on Facebook. You can also find Glimmer Glow Body Products, LLC on Twitter and Pinterest.

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Help Out a Blogger in Need

Marcella, a blogger at The Marci Factor, is trying to raise money to purchase a service dog for her husband who has PTSD. You can read more about that story here. Anyway, her goal is to raise $5,000, which is only a very small portion of the total cost of the service dog. This $5,000 will help with their trip to New York to meet and pick up the dog and put down a down payment. I'm sure anything you could spare to give would help out this family tremendously. You can click below to donate. And if you can't donate, please at least help spread the word, share this post, click the below button and embed it on your blog, etc.

  

Design and Illustrate the First Chapter of 'Catching Fire'

Attention fans of THE HUNGER GAMES!

Lionsgate has officially debuted the first official poster for THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE on their brand new official INSTAGRAM account for the movie. The poster showcases heroic Katniss and a tagline pulled straight from the incredible words of Suzanne Collins – The sun persists on rising, so I make myself stand. 

Lionsgate is also encouraging fans to design and illustrate the first chapter of 'Catching Fire' for the chance to see their work featured on The Hunger Games' official Facebook page! You can incorporate photos, drawings, GIFS & video to create a great experience inspired by the book. What a fun project to do with the kids! Check it out here: http://lions.gt/GlossiCF.

Ash City Ladies Climate Core365 Jacket Review

Shoplet.com's promotional products aren't just limited to office products. In fact, Ash City is the premier apparel supplier for Shoplet.com's new promotional products site and the Ash City Ladies Climate Core365 Jacket is only one of many great promotional products that Shoplet.com carries.

The Ash City Ladies Climate Core365 Jacket comes in five colors (black, red, blue, navy, and white) and sizes small to 3X. It has a lot of great features, including a fully seam sealed waterproof shell and a storm flap with snap closure at bottom and chin guard. It has a center front autolock zipper with reflective toggle. There is a roll away adjustable hood, which actually easy to roll out or tuck back in. There is an underarm and back vent system for added breathability. The cuffs are elasticized. This is a thin jacket and works better in milder weather conditions. I've wore mine in temperatures as low at the high 30s to as high as the high 60s and felt it did a better job at keeping me warm when wearing in the 50 to 60 degree temperature range. Being so thin, it's also easy to store, which is great because I often times ride on the back of my boyfriend's motorcycle in the summer and this would store nicely into the saddlebag. The jacket seems to be very durable however, including all the zippers, etc. 

The only negative aspect about this jacket it that it runs very small. I'm a little top heavy if you know what I mean and I normally where a size XL in shirts so I thought for added comfort I'd order a size bigger (2X) and boy am I glad I did because the 2X is even more snug than I would like it to be, although it technically does fit me. Otherwise, the Ash City Ladies Climate Core365 Jacket is comfortable to wear. 

Since the Ash City Ladies Climate Core365 Jacket is a promotional product, you have to purchase a minimum of 12, and you can customize this jacket with your own artwork, logo, etc. I plan on having my son's school logo embroidered onto the back of it before football season starts. 

As always, you can visit Shoplet.com to find all the office products and  promotional products you'll need for your home, office, or business. You can also find them on Facebook and Twitter.