Meet my cat Romeo.

He’s a 4 year old Himalayan cat - the only breed of cat I’ve had for years. They have very long hair and they sure can shed. When we moved furniture last week even I was shocked at the amount of cat hair that was under the furniture. It looked like this, times about a thousand.

It suddenly became clear why even when we had no cat we kept finding cat hair everywhere. To have this type of cat groomed professionally costs $35 - $75, depending on where you go. That kind of money doesn’t come easily these days so we’ll be handling the grooming ourselves. By doing the grooming ourselves pet owners like me can save lots of money. The FurBuster by Bamboo is a pet grooming tool that has interchangeable blades.

I received a The interchangable blades on the FurBuster are a great feature for anyone with multiple breeds or multiple pets. Rather than buying one tool for each you just buy the blade. Changing the blade is easy, it clicks into place. The FurBuster has a sturdy, thick plastic handle and fits comfortably in the hand. I used it on Romeo and within minutes his fur felt smoother and I had a small pile of dead hair in front of me. Plus he enjoyed the one on one contact.

I like the Furbuster. It helped remove dead hair right away. With regular use I think it will cut down on the hair shed all over the house and that mats that sometimes get in the fur. The only suggestion I have for it is that it would be helpful to include the size on the handle somewhere during the manufacturing process, to make remembering what size blades to buy later easier. The FurBuster is available for purchase in retail stores nationwide and online. Pricing varies depending on which size you buy but expect to spend between $15 and $25 depending on where you;re buyng. It would make a great gift or stocking stuffer for your favorite pet lover.

WIN IT!

ONE winner will receive a FurBuster of their own!

HOW TO ENTER. (MANDATORY)

To enter leave a comment on this post telling me what animal you’d use this for and how you currently groom them.

BONUS ENTRIES

1 - Subscribe to my newsletter.
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1 - Follow me on Twitter @valmg AND leave your Twitter name here.
1 - Tweet this giveaway.
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1 - Blog about this giveaway, including a link here.
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1 - Visit HereAndThere.US (my Mom) and leave a comment on any post (except a giveaway post) there. Then return here and leave a comment on this post telling me one thing you read or learned on my Mom’s blog. (That’s two comments you need to leave for this bonus entry, one there and one here.) Unlimited entries for this method of entry.

Leave an additional comment for each entry you qualify for. You must have completed the first entry according to the instructions to be eligible for any bonus entries.

THE SMALL PRINT.

US addresses only please. This contest will end on Sunday 11/29/09 at 11:59 pm est. If you’ve entered any of my giveaways before then you know that only comments containing all of the requested information will be eligible for entry. The winner must contact me to confirm they wish to receive the prize within two days of my email notifying them they’ve won. Good luck to everyone!

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Mom Knows It All Holiday Gift Guide has just launched with the hopes of helping families to get ready for the holiday season. The guide will contain family friendly gift ideas for all ages and all budget ranges. Products will come from all categories and price points. Visit often because the gift guide will be a fluid one, meaning that items will be listed individually and in one central location on the gift guide page. A number of companies have generously offered to sponsor giveaways as well.

Have a product you think should be included in the guide?

I still have room for items in several categories including toy, game, gadget and household. Visit the gift guide page to learn how to submit an item for consideration.

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This flu season, the Wet Ones® brand is asking you to visit www.WetOnes.com to pledge to help stop the spread of germs in your community. Using Wet Ones® Antibacterial Wipes are proven to clean hands and kill 99.99% of germs.

Starting today, the first 100,000 pledges at www.WetOnes.com will generate a donation of one Wet Ones® Antibacterial Wipes travel pack to the Kids In Need Foundation, a national organization that provides school supplies to children in thousands of schools across the country.

Upon signing the pledge, you will also receive a downloadable coupon redeemable for $1.50 off a Wet Ones® product purchase, along with valuable information on how to help keep your family healthy this season, including a simple and effective Flu Prevention Plan developed by renowned pediatrician Dr. William Sears, M.D.

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Imagine That
Available 11/24/09 on DVD and 10/06/09 on Blu-ray.

• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)


• Studio: Paramount


• DVD Release Date: October 6, 2009


• Run Time: 107 minutes

Synopsis: Evan Danielson is a successful financial executive who has more time for his blackberry than his seven-year-old daughter. When he has a crisis of confidence and his career starts going down the drain, however, he finds the solution to all his problems in his daughter’s imaginary world.

Supplemental Features

* Widescreen Format
* Dolby Digital
* English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround & Spanish 5.1 Surround
* English, Spanish and French Subtitles
* Special Features
o Commentary with Karey Kirkpatrick & Yara Shahidi
o Yara Shahidi Set Tour
o A Playground of the Mind
o Getting the Part
o Star Blanket: Native American Influence
o The King and His Jesters
o What Were They Really Saying?
o Johnny Whitefeather Outtakes
o Evan and Olivia Outtakes
o Deleted Scenes

View the trailer on the official site - http://www.imaginethatmovie.com/.

WIN IT!

THREE winners will each receive the movie on DVD and a soft, purple blanket.

HOW TO ENTER. (MANDATORY)

To enter leave me a comment on this post telling me what color your favorite blanket is.

BONUS ENTRIES

1 - Subscribe to my RSS feed.
1 - Follow me on Twitter AND leave your Twitter name here.
1 - Fave this blog at Technorati AND leave your Technorati name here.
1 - Friend me on Facebook.
1 - Blog about this giveaway, including a link here.
1 - Place my button on your blog.

Leave an additional comment for each entry you qualify for. You must have completed the first entry according to the instructions to be eligible for any bonus entries.

THE SMALL PRINT.

US addresses only please. This contest will end on Wednesday 11/25/09 at 11:59 pm est. If you’ve entered any of my giveaways before then you know that only comments containing all of the requested information will be eligible for entry. The winner must contact me to confirm they wish to receive the prize within two days of my email notifying them they’ve won. Good luck to everyone!

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Thanks for stopping by! If you have a picture up for Wordless Wednesday, leave your link below on Mr. Linky! Then head on over to From Val’s Kitchen, Here And There, What’s That Smell, Wordless Wednesday, Go Graham Go, 5 Minutes for Mom and The Not-So-Blog Blog for more wordless fun!

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A few days ago Disney and Pixar released the movie UP! On DVD and Blu-ray. I love Disney movies. My whole family loves them. I didn’t see UP! in the theater but heard lots of buzz about it. I couldn’t imagine what the big deal was about it. I figured that I’d like it as much as other Disney animated movies but wouldn’t love it. I was mistaken about that, because UP! is not like other Disney movies.

At heart I think UP! is a love story. No, I don’t mean a mushy one, it’s not one the kids will say “yeck” and run from the room during. It’s the story of the promise made to the love of a lifetime mixed in with lots of adventure and happiness and even some sadness. The movie starts with short scenes introducing the main character Carl (Ed Asner) to his wife Ellie. They’re both adventurers at heart who marry and plan to find adventure someday by moving to Paradise Falls in South America. Why Paradise Falls? Because that’s where it’s rumored their favorite adventurer Muntz disappeared to years before. As happens in real life, each time they saved enough money something came up and they couldn’t go on their adventure. Ellie becomes pregnant and loses the baby. The couple remain childless but madly in love until Ellie dies. Carl remains in their house despite the efforts of developers to buy his house. When the time comes that he can no longer remain there he sets out to keep his promise to Ellie and go to Paradise Falls. Folks come to take him to the retirement home and he sets off on his journey - house and all! I couldn’t believe my eyes when the whole house lifted off of the ground, powered by hundreds and hundreds of bright balloons.

Early in his journey he discovers he has an unexpected travel partner - a very earnest young adventurer named Russell (Jordan Nagai) who’s just trying to help people to get a badge. Upon landing in South America they encounter Dug, a dog with a talking collar, and Kevin, a giant bird. As it turns out Kevin is the mysterious bird that Carl’s hero Muntz had set on to find. From there it’s every man (and dog and bird) for themself! Will Muntz catch the elusive Kevin? Will Carl and Muntz be friends? Will Dug rejoin the pack? You’ll just have to watch the video to find out. I recommend UP! highly, it’s become one of my favorite Disney movies.

Here’s a bonus clip called Talking Dogs.

Here’s some interesting UP! character facts.

* Up has 330 characters and variants.
* The aviator cap is worn eight times in the movie.

Carl

* In Up, Carl Fredricksen’s hometown is Bloomington, PD, which the sharp eye may be able to spot on Carl’s mail. The fictitious location is a nod to director Pete Docter (PD), whose own hometown is Bloomington, Minnesota. The distance from that part of Minnesota to Angel Falls is 3,268 miles.
* Carl Fredricksen’s last name came from relatives of director Pete Docter.
* Carl Fredricksen is so stylized that he’s only three heads high. Most people are about seven heads tall.
* Director Pete Docter animated Carl in the last scene of the film.

Ellie

* Ellie is named after and voiced by Pete Docter’s daughter, Elizabeth “Elie” Docter. She also drew some of the pictures in the adventure book.

Russell

* One of Russell’s merit badges is the Luxo Jr. ball. He also has a badge for 2D Animation, Toe Touching, Knot Tying, and many others.
* Jordan Nagai was 7-years-old when he was cast as Russell.

Muntz

* Muntz’s jacket is the first time in Pixar history where a cloth garment is made of fur. No CG animals were harmed.

Dug

* Dug’s Greek dog pack name was Lambda.
* Dug is voiced by Up’s co-director, Bob Peterson.

Kevin

* Kevin is 13-feet tall.
* Director Pete Docter voices some of the bird noises for Kevin.
* Pixar created new feather technology just for Kevin, but it’s used three other places as well: Ellie’s parrot, a feather duster, and the feathers on Muntz’s wall.
* Kevin’s design is based on many birds, including an ostrich (legs), cassowary (feather shapes), Monal pheasant (feather iridescence), heron and other large birds (behavior), toucan, quail, and peacock (beak and “dongles” on its head).