Home Repairs

This is a sponsored post.

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When you become a homeowner, it is a joyous occasion.  You are now the proud owner of a piece of real estate that will increase in value.  That is a great investment.  But, with that investment comes more than just paying the mortgage and property taxes.  There will definitely be times when you need home repairs.  You have to take care of your investment. so that it will sustain it's value.  If you have a home that is in need of many repairs, that is not helping the value.  Just like if you are late on a payment or delinquent on your property taxes,you are losing value on your home.  You do not want to have negative equity on your home.

If you have a huge repair to make and your home is in shambles, you will not be able to borrow against your home's equity.  This home ownership thing thing has it's pros and cons.  But, as a homeowner myself, I see more pros.

You will have unexpected home repairs, so you need to be prepared for those. I live in a hurricane prone area and I have seen so many people who are at a loss because their mortgage insurance did not cover their specific problem of a tree falling on their house.  Was it an act of God or was it a flood?  It is heartbreaking to see people who have paid their insurance premiums only to be told, their losses are not covered because they did not have flood insurance.  Remember Katrina that struck the Gulf Coast years ago?  People were homeless because they could not afford the home repairs or their homes were destroyed.

When you own a home you can expect certain repairs, if you live there long enough.  New flooring, new windows, or a new roof are a few that come to mind.If you have equity in your home and it is not in a state of disarray, you can more than likely borrow against that equity to make home repairs or do a remodel.  Most people want to use that line of credit to upgrade their homes, but sometimes they have to use it for higher priced home repairs.

My parents are getting ready to sell their home and they decided it was time for a new roof.  They thought that would make their home much more attractive to potential buyers, if it had a new roof.  Everything else is in tip top shape.  Putting a new roof on a house can be quite expensive.

The first thing you need to do is get quotes from different roofing companies, like Westchase Roofing.  Their are many aspects that go into putting on a new roof.  You have to determine if you want a metal roof or a shingled roof.  While metal roofs last longer, they are more expensive.  But, shingles are now in pretty good competition with the metal roofs, because they are being made with more sustainable materials.  My parents decided on a shingled roof and the shingles have a 20 year guarantee.  Personally, I love the sound of rain on a metal roof.

Winning Moves Games Giveaway

Welcome to the Winning Moves Games Giveaway

Sponsored by Winning Moves Games

Hosted by Life With Kathy

You can read Life With Kathy's review HERE.

  This giveaway is for Winning Moves Games. There will be a total of 3 winners, and each winner will receive Stink Bug, Apocalyptic Picnic, Pass the Pigs (pig sty), KOZO and Pass the Pigs Big Pigs. That's five games total to three winners! Enter below for your chance to win. Good luck to all.

Entry-Form

Life With Kathy and all other participating bloggers are not responsible for prize shipment. The giveaway is in no way administered, sponsored, or endorsed by or associated with Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or any other social media. The winner will be contacted by email and have 48 hours to respond before a new winner is drawn.

Beautiful Puzzles and Board Games

MasterPieces Inc. provided me with these products for review.

This is a 1000 piece puzzle of The Last Supper.  The finished puzzle measures 13" X 39".  It is from the original painting by William T, Ternay, whose interpretation of DaVinci's original work captures all of the emotion of Christ dining with His Apostles one last time before His Crucifixtion.  This puzzle was made in the USA with chipboard that was made from recycled material.  You can purchase it for $16.99 HERE.  

  
This is a 12 Piece bundle of puzzles featuring the artwork of world famous Jenny Newland.  They feature predominately dogs and cats, but also various wildlife animals as well.  There are four 100 piece puzzles, four 300 piece puzzles and four 500 piece puzzles.  Each puzzle has a different color on the backside to help keep them organized.  The chipboard used in these puzzles is made from recycled material.  You can purchase it for $24.99 HERE.

This is Betty Boop World Tour-Opoly.  It is a Betty Boop themed version of Monopoly.  It comes with 6 pewter playing pieces (airplane, purse, high heel shoe, motorcycle, Pudgy and Bimbo), 22 property cards, 4 vehicle cards, 2 accessories cards, 16 Sassy notes cards, 16 Love cards, packet of money, 32 hearts, 12 XOs, 2 dice and game instructions. Each of the cards comes with unique trivia.  It's perfect for 2-6 players age 8 and up.  You can purchase it for $29.99 HERE.

This is the Detroit Red Wings Checkers game.  It's the perfect gift for the NHL Detroit Red Wings fan in your life.  It comes with 24 checkers and 8 hockey pucks that snap on to the checkers to make the King.  Also has stickers for the checkers.  The team ice rink is the checkerboard.  You can purchase it for $19.99 HERE.   

Red Duck

Red Duck is great to have around for Taco Tuesday or Cinco de Mayo!  They taste great and come in three delcious flavors.

Red Duck’s three new organic taco sauces are:

APPROACHABLY MILD - $4.99 suggested retail price

Tasty tomatoes that go from field to puree in less than four hours and lots of citrus create a super bright sauce, with the added depth and earthiness of bell peppers and a touch of sweetness from carrots. This is the taco sauce for kids and those who are faint of heart when it comes to spice. While it may be mild in terms of the level of spiciness, it’s full of flavor that’s perfect to cook with beef, chicken or pork, light and bright enough for mild white fish, and adds pizazz to pizza.

UNIQUELY KOREAN  - $4.99 suggested retail price

Orange, tomatoes and molasses bring a little sweetness, miso and tamari pack a savory umami punch, and Bird’s eye chili pepper and gochugaru deliver a lasting kick to make this one super complex sauce! It would be a unique and flavorful addition to burgers, stir-fries and meatballs.

ACTUALLY SPICY  - $4.99 suggested retail price

For those looking for a good kick, this is our spiciest sauce. Our pepper trifecta hits your senses at various points to create a spicy story with a beginning, middle and grand finale. Tasty on tacos, of course, but eggs, a Bloody Mary, fried chicken and even collard greens will also benefit from a hit of this sauce.

About Red Duck Foods

Red Duck Foods is a premier sauce company and Certified B Corporation® based in Portland, Oregon. Founded by Jessica Hilbert, Shannon Oliver and Karen Bonner in 2013 when they were graduate student classmates, their pioneering spirits believed regular condiments didn’t cut the mustard. Red Duck Ketchup, the company’s first product line, dared to elevate the popular condiment by using high-quality, organic ingredients. In 2015, Red Duck expanded its product list with the introduction of cocktail sauce. Three USDA organic BBQ Sauces joined the growing product line in May 2016, followed by three taco sauces in March 2018. Red Duck’s products bring an artisan approach to whole, honest ingredients while offering a unique, unexpected twist on familiar flavors. For more information, please visit www.redduckfoods.com and Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

PMS kits Giveaway

UPDATE

I am no longer promoting this giveaway.  I "won" a kit on Instagram and they never shipped.  I am on chat with them now and they are telling me I HAVE to enter a credit card, even though my order is $0, before they will ship.  I did not want to mispresent this as a giveaway, when in fact, you have to put in your credit card information.

Try these games on your next Family Game Night

I received these products from The Master Theorem Games for review.

This is Snippets.  Thanks to Snippets' unique "anything goes" rule, this game requires more of a creative mind than a large vocabulary.  Snippets is a sequence of letters that can be found as a whole within words.  To play, you flip over a snippets card and flip over the 60 minute timer.  Then you quickly write down as many words as you can that contains that snippet until the timer runs out.  When the timer runs out, compare your words with those of the other players.  Earn points for unique words and for fun bonuses (longest word, fewest crossed words, the most words and other bonuses).  The highest score wins the round and the first to win three rounds wins the game.  Inside the box you will find 300 Snippet Cards, 4 answer pads, 4 pencils, 4 Scoring Cheat Sheets and an instruction booklet.  There is a free timer app for Android and i Phones.  This is a 2-8 player game for ages 10 and up.  You can purchase it on their website for $24.99.

This is Snippets Junior.  It's an expansion for Snippets with 100 extra cards that are perfect for younger children age 6-9.  You can play by the full or simplified rules.  It helps kids build vocabulary and improve spelling.  It's recommended to use with the full Snippets game, but it isn't required to play.  The box contains 100 easy Snippet Cards, 4 Scoring Cheat Sheets and Instruction Card.  You can purchase Snippets Junior on their website for $9.99.

This is PROOF!  This is an award winning, fast, fun and addictive math game that the whole family can enjoy.  To play you turn 9 cards face up in 3 rows of three.  Using only those cards, you look for cards you can combine to form a true math equation.  You can use addition, subtraction, multiplication or division as long as the equation is correct.  Once you find one, shout it out before anyone else finds one.  If your equation is correct, then you get to keep the cards you used in the equation.  Deal new cards to replace the ones you kept and keep playing.  When the deck runs out, the person with the most cards wins.  The game comes with 100 number cards and an instruction booklet.  It's a 2-6 player game recommended for age 9 and up.  It's great to help kids improve their math skills.  You can purchase PROOF! on their website for $14.99.   

Splash Out is a fun way to cool off in the summer

I received this product from the people at Far Out Toys in order to do this review.

Far Out Toys has teamed up with the 7 year old YouTube star Ryan from Ryan's World.  This is a new version of the original Splash Out, an action packed extreme game where you need to provide answers quickly and correctly, then pass the ball on before time runs out and you get "Splashed Out!" and soaked with the water that filled the balloon.  

Inside the box you will find 1 Splash Out Ball, 24 Water Balloons, 1 Hose Nozzle Adapter and an Adapter For Indoor Play Option.  You put a filled water balloon inside the ball, which includes a wind up timer, and wind it up.  When timer runs out, the water balloon is punctured and whoever is holding the ball gets splashed with the water.  

Splash Out is recommended for age 5 and up and retails for $12.99.  You can find them in Target stores and online, and on Amazon.  

This toy is great for family BBQ's, reunions and any time you get together with family or friends.  It's perfect for a hot summer day.