As a young girl, I grew up watching Disney movies on VHS. The love for Disney has not wavered even though I am much older now; in fact, I think the love for Disney movies especially the classics such as Cinderella have only grown as Walt Disney releases them from the vaults and makes them available on Blu-ray. The most recent Disney classic to be released was Cinderella and I was so very excited to get my own copy of it. I love watching Disney movies on Blu-ray because of the enhanced coloring and up to date features. Cinderella is part of the Disney Diamond Collection which offers consumers a wide variety of options in terms of how to buy the product. I was VERY surprised that there were so many options when I happened to come across them in Wal-Mart the other evening, there is definitely something for everyone. Not only did I notice the options for the movie itself, but also the amount of Cinderella themed toys that were displayed along with the movie. For some reason, I don’t recall the same kind of setup for other Disney movies that have been released over the years but maybe that’s because Cinderella is the princess that every little girl dreams of being one day!

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To advocate is to: to speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument ; recommend publicly; a person who pleads the cause of another in the court of law.

If there is one thing I’ve learned from being a master’s social work student, it would be the importance of advocating for oneself. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve thought long and hard about this topic and how I wanted to present my thoughts in a blog, hopefully I can convey the importance of advocating for onself so that other people can start doing it for themselves.

Social workers, in general, are taught to advocate for the clients that they work with which means that we are supposed to be in favor of the client no matter what the situation may be. This can prove to be difficult at times especially in the field of child welfare when social workers, often times, start off advocating for their clients but sometimes have to switch sides when the time comes to prove to the court why said parent(s) should not get their children back. So far, I haven’t had any problems advocating for the clients I work with, but I have had some difficulties advocating for myself until recently.

Up until recently, I had issues voicing my opinions and feelings when I thought that how I felt would affect the person I was telling my feelings to in a negative way. I do not have an assertive personality and I’m not blunt. I care about how I treat other people, what I say to others and how it affects them and it bothers me greatly when I feel like I’ve upset someone even if I was just giving my honest opinion. Because of this, it has allowed others to take the “spotlight” if you will in certain situations because I’m easily pushed out of the way, it’s allowed others to take advantage of me because I don’t want to hurt their feelings by saying no, and it’s allowed for others to take control of things in my life that have not a darn thing to do with them.

For instance, I’m a graduate student getting my Masters in Social Work and this semester I cam completing my foundation practicum. Because I work full-time, I have opted to attend graduate school part-time and do my first practicum at my place of employment, so I wouldn’t have to quit and be stressed out about finances. Now one would think that doing a practicum, which is logging hours worked in a different position than what I currently do to learn other areas of the social work field, would be amazing because I get to stay at my job and log hours AND get paid for it. It has been a nice thing, however its had its downfalls as well. Enter stage left: others controlling my practicum. Up until last week, I had allowed a co-worker and fellow student in the same program as me control what I was doing in my practicum, how I was completing my hours and allowing her to make me feel like I wasn’t doing enough. This made me stress out to the point that I ended up in my supervisors office crying because I could not handle it anymore but was too afraid (I suppose I was afraid) to say anything to stand up for myself and take control. After discussing my issues with my supervisor, I emailed my field instructor (the supervisor who supervises my practicum duties) and explained how I felt about me allowing others to delegate the tasks I’ve completed or not completed in my practicum, and feeling obligated to complete things that I’ve heard about through the grapevine.

I CC’d my supervisor on the email and the response I got from her made me feel 10x better; she simply replied with “WAY TO GO, GREAT JOB ADVOCATING FOR YOURSELF!” The email response I got from my field instructor also made me feel better as she applauded me for voicing my concerns and clearing the air. She also told the field liaison (individual from the university that steps in when issues arise in practicum) during a site visit that she was impressed with me because I was able to speak up and advocate for what I wanted. The point is is that I’ve been taught to advocate for the cause and case of others and have forgotten myself in the mix. While, my personality may have something to do with it I realize that I cannot continue to live my life allowing others to take control of it through their actions and words because I’m too afraid to stand up and plead my case and cause. Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself and take control of what is rightfully yours. It may hurt others feeling in the process, but they’ll get over it and if they don’t it’s still not worth it for you to continue to stress out whatever the issue may be. Take control, advocate for yourself!

Yesterday evening was the rise of the Harvest Moon. Don’t know what the harvest moon is? Well, I’ll explain a little bit!

Occurring about every four years in the month of October, the full harvest moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox often times appearing to be larger in size, brighter in light and more colorful.  The harvest moon is said to have helped farmers working to bring in their crops because they could continue to be productive by moonlight even after the sun had set.

I had been waiting in anticipation all week for the rise of the harvest moon because I had hoped for a grand opportunity to take photographs of it. But of course, the clouds didn’t allow me to see it rise and when it finally was in the sky, it was only a round circle of light shrouded by clouds. I waited and waited, checking on it continually throughout the evening. When 2am rolled around, the moon appeared to only be slightly covered and I decided to give my moon shots a try with my new addition the Canon EF 70-300mm  f/4-5.6 IS USM lens that I picked up at Best Buy earlier in the evening with a savings of $160!

Click for larger images

I think my first attempt at photographing the moon was successful, given that I had never tried this kind of shot before. I am not very familiar with night photography having only shot in the night maybe once or twice before when I was taking photography in my beginning years of college. I also need to get familiar with using a tripod, which mine is a pretty crappy one hence the not so crisp images. Despite the pitfalls, I’m glad I got a few shots of the Harvest Moon; I hope you enjoy!

I cannot believe that the month of October is a week a way, and with that comes the release of Tim Burton’s latest movie starring Johnny Depp, Dark Shadows. 

Director Tim Burton brings the cult classic series Dark Shadows to the big screen in a film featuring an all-star cast, led by Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer and Helena Bonham Carter.

In the year 1750, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from England to start a new life in America, where they build a fishing empire in the coastal Maine town that comes to carry their name: Collinsport. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of falling in love with a beauty named Josette DuPres (Bella Heathcote) and breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death—turning him into a vampire, and then burying him…alive.

Nearly two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972, a stranger in an even stranger time. Returning to Collinwood Manor, he finds that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin, and the dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Family matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) is the one person Barnabas entrusts with the truth of his identity. But his rather odd and anachronistic behavior immediately raises the suspicions of the live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), who has no idea what kind of problems she’s really digging up.

As Barnabas sets out to restore his family name to its former glory, one thing stands in his way: Collinsport’s leading denizen, who goes by the name Angie…and who bears a striking resemblance to a very old acquaintance of Barnabas Collins. Also residing in Collinwood Manor are Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins, (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloë Grace Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gully McGrath). The longsuffering caretaker of Collinwood is Willie Loomis (Jackie Earle Haley), and new to the Collins’ employ is David’s nanny, Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote), who is, mysteriously, the mirror image of Barnabas’ one true love, Josette.

Dark Shadows will be available on Blu-ray Combo Pack for $35.99 and on single disc DVD for $28.98 on 10/2/2012.  The Blu-ray Combo Pack features a hi-definition and standard definition copy of the film and UltraViolet; and the single disc DVD features a standard definition copy of the film and UltraViolet. UltraViolet allows consumers to download and instantly stream the standard definition theatrical version of the film to a wide range of devices including computers and compatible tablets, smartphones, game consoles, Internet-connected TVs and Blu-ray players.

Based on Nicholas sparks’ best-selling book, The Lucky One  directed by Academy Award-nominated writer and director Scott Hicks (“Shine,” “No Reservations”) stars Zac Efron alongside Taylor Schilling and Blythe Danner in this great romantic drama about a war veteran who finds a mysterious woman that leads him to a timeless romance. The Lucky One is now available on Blu-Ray combo pack for $35.99 and on single disc DVD for $28.98 at retailers nationwide.

The Blu-Ray combo pack features theatrical version of the film in hi-definition and theatrical version in standard definition. Both Blu-Ray combo pack and  single disc DVD include UltraViolet which allows consumers to download and instantly stream the standard definition theatrical version of the film to a wide range of device including computers compatible tablets, smartphones, game consoles, Internet-connected TVs and Blu-Ray players.

Enter below for your chance to win a copy of The Lucky One Blu-Ray Combo from Blissful Reviews!

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Being a “fur-mommy,” I am always looking out for my two dogs, Bella & Max, as if they were human children and I’m always on the search for the BEST products that are available to ensure that they are receiving the best nutrition, the best treats and the best quality of life possible. So when I got the opportunity to try out the services of Chewy.Com and the products they have to offer, I excitingly accepted and placed my order immediately and have been a fan ever since!

Chewy.com is responsible for delivering pet happiness to pets around the world and making sure that they offer only the highest quality products for pet parents to choose from. Chewy.com understands the important bond that pet parents have with their pet companion, which is why they only offer the best in services and products. Chewy.com ships 120+ brands of pet food and stuff for FREE (on orders $49 and over) with lightning fast delivery and also provides the ability to pre-schedule orders and offers customer discounts on their next order when they refer new people; they also will donate $10 to Best Friends Animal Society with every referral as well.

I placed my order consisting of 7 beef chews, 1 bag of tarter control biscuits, 1 bag of cranberry treats, 1 box of yogurt treats and a 6 pound bag of dog food for a total of $49.89, which also qualified for FREE SHIPPING. That is an amazing deal considering I can spend that much money on LESSER amount of product when visiting my local pet store. The order was placed on the 1st of the month, shipped the 2nd of the month and placed on my doorstep 3 days later. The delivery was extremely fast which was very important because the dogs were out of food by the day the package arrived, so even they were excited to get into the box of treats & food. Another amazing thing about Chewy.com is that they only offer the BEST prices for your favorite brands. My dogs have been eating Wellness dry dog food since I’ve had them and a 30 pound bag costs about $58, give or take a few dollars with tax. The same bag of dog food costs $47.99 through Chewy.com which includes NO TAX (except FL & PA) and FREE SHIPPING if I add a couple other items to my order; that $10 savings adds up over time and anymore, everyone could use the savings. Even though, I don’t use the feature of scheduling orders, Chewy.com offers customers the ability to pre-schedule orders that will automatically ship at every 2 weeks up to every 14 weeks so if you have an idea of when you run out of dog food, you can setup your account to automatically fulfill a new order so that you never run out of dog food again.

I highly recommend Chewy.com to anyone who is a pet lover, pet owner, and pet parent. If you want to give your animals the BEST products around at the BEST prices, check out Chewy’s selection and receive 10% off your first order by using the code: X9826 during the checkout process.

Disclaimer: This review was written on behalf of Chewy.com. I received a store credit in order to write this review, no other compensation was provided. All opinions are 100% mine.