Work at Home Mom Forum $25 Giveaway

As one of the owners of a Work at Home Mom forum, call the Smart Moms Forum, I am offering a $25 gift card for an End of Summer Points giveaway. There are lots of ways to earn points, just by posting on the forum, giving us your introduction if you are new, or visiting some other sites and blogs. The one with the highest points wins! So if you want to win a $25 US Am Ex gift card, join the fun (and you do not have to be a work at home mom.... you can work outside the home, stay at home (although we know all stay at home moms work!), or do a little of it all!

Read more about the contest here!

Hope to see you there!

Bloggy Carnival Winner

I had a great first time response for my Bloggy Giveaway. I am giving a choice of a $10 gift certificate to one lucky winner chosen randomly! There were so many great comments that I could not manage to choose the best so I requested that someone that had not read the comments choose a number 1- 184 (even though a few repeated, I did not want to exclude or make judgments on comments)...

The lucky name chosen was Emily B.!

Emily B said... I am thankful for my health and my family's, my wonderful fiance and my great dog. Life is good and I am thankful for that.


Thanks for all those that entered and I appreciate your posting your wonderful comments. Everyone should read them for a good pick me up!

And check out the other Bloggy Carnival Winners and check back in October for the next installment!

Bloggy Giveaways- Check Mine Out

I am participating in the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Blog Carnival. WOW! There are already over 700 entries!

For my giveaway, I am giving a FREE $10 gift card to Starbucks OR Walmart (your choice). All you have to do is comment here on one thing you are thankful for. The one I find the most interesting or the most inspiring will be the winner. The winner will be announced August 1.

***additional information added July 30- I am going to accept comments until August 1 at 11:59 pm- I just love reading how everyone is thankful! I am also going to use a random number drawing to choose the winner- there are just too many good ones. Thanks for stopping by!

Riding a 2 Wheeler

My son saw that his cousin, just 6 months older, could ride a 2 wheel bike, while his still had his training wheels (he just turned 5). He still had to choose his gift from his grandparents, so he asked for a 2 wheel bike with a kick stand. He is a tall boy and we actually had to get him a 20 in. bike (the 16 in did not have a kickstand!), but we found one with a low seat. He rode in circles as hubby and I held on. Then I went in and looked on the internet for ideas. Using some great guidelines to teach a child to ride a bike, we raised the training wheels on his little bike and let him try- and he balanced. So we took those off in a few minutes and let him try down the driveway into the grass and I let go! He did it. So we moved back to the big bike and he could do it! Yeah! He cannot get on without holding on, but he can peddle away.

Yeah!

And boy am I tired from running along in the hot FL sun!
Whew!

Pictures to be posted soon!

Fisher Price MP3 FP3

We got the kids a Fisher Price FP3 for Christmas and one started having some skipping issues. Figuring we just needed to reload the songs, I went to add the software to our new computer. Well, the old software does not work with Vista, of course. After reading some web postings about there not being a Vista patch, I called the company. They explained to me the problem, emailed me the new program and now it is all fixed. Except now I have to go back and load new music since it erased all the old music! Fun fun, but the kids love them! A toy worth the time and the price!

I Would Have Been Average in the 30's!

57 As a 1930s wife, I am Average Take the test!

As a 30's wife, I am AVERAGE! Probably the same as a '00 wife (is that how you say that!).

Take the test too! Just click the link above and see how you rate.

Thanks Vicki for the link! (she rocked "very superior" as a 30's wife- Go VICKI!)

Saving Money with Coupons

Last weekend, I was given a coupon for a local craft store that was for today, only between 4-8 pm. It was for 25% off anything and everything in the store. Now while that is not much, I would have bought some of the items anyway, so it was a good deal. I saved $15! Whoo hoo! Of course, they also offered a 40% off one item coupon and I was planning to use both. This one cashier (who is never very nice) said "One coupon per day per customer... and they are very strict on that rule." So my hubby became another customer and bought that item for me... a savings of $7.

There are always ways around it, right!?

Hilary Swank was on Opera or something one time and was asked why she uses coupons (she self reported that she cuts coupons weekly)--- she said something like it was like looking money in the face and flushing it down the toilet.

I need to be better at looking at coupons each week!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

In my quest to minimize expenses and find product that are less harsh on the environment, I found TipNut with great recipes for homemade laundry detergent.

I was already to make some today, but then found a new container of store bought soap. So not to waste, I am going to use that up first. Then I will let you know how it goes. If you try it, let me know. You will not only save money (they are all super cheap ingredients), you will help then environment by limiting the amount of chemical agents that go into the earth, and limiting the use of plastics for the containers of the products (reuse those ones you have as many times as you can or leave it in a covered bucket).

And I am still hanging clothes on the line, which is a challenge with daily rain showers, but I am trying my best. I still have not fixed the dryer.

Buy In Bulk, Save More than Money!

We were in another city yesterday that fortunately has a Sam's Club. While we do not always save great amounts of money on the products, we usually save some. But what is better is you save on packaging for the products (because you are not buying all those little packages all wrapped individually). We bought in bulk things like baking soda and crackers, that came in larger packages, but overall less waste. Not to mention Sam's does not bag your groceries and uses the cardboard boxes, all good for the environment too! And we do save some money on the purchases...

All around, a good deal!

Some Great Brownies

I made homemade brownies this weekend for a party- so great! And so easy!

Then I took it and made it a "deceptively delicious" recipe today...

1/2 salted butter, melted
1/2 cup pureed butternut squash or sweet potato
1 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup all purpose flour (unbleached flour)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tbsp wheat germ
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Melt the butter. Cream with the puree and sugars. Add the eggs, flours, wheat germ, vanilla, and cocoa powder and mix until combined. Add chips and gently combine. Using a 9x9 pan (I used a stone), cook in preheated 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

Yummy and almost healthy! My kids and hubby love them. And you cannot taste the squash at all!

My Savings Inventory:
1 box that the brownie mix would have come in
1 plastic bag the mix would have come in

The cost was probably close to buying brownie mix in the store since I used higher priced products. But I had everything in the pantry, fridge, and freezer already, so that saved the gas of going to the store. :)

Saving Money Around the Home

Over the course of the next weeks, months, year, I am going to make an effort to document how I have changed the habits of my home to save money, be a little "greener", and find alternatives to the high priced living that we have become accustomed to. I have already made some simple changes that have made an impact, like the goal to recycle this year. We are amazed at the amount of items that we are now recycling that were thrown in the garbage. That has not saved me any money per se, but the fact that I am trying to reduce the amount of prepackaged foods and drinks that I consume has saved me money. Buying a simple water container at Target for $1 saves me $1 every time I use it. It pays for itself in just one use! Join me in finding was to save money with your family.

A Great Song

Although I have tried to figure out the meaning to Timbaland and One Republics song Apologize, I cannot. I just love the song and have since I first heard it on So You Think You Can Dance!

Nothing Better than Family

We spent the weekend with my whole family at the beach. Although we did not see each other the whole time (some went shopping, some to the beach, some fishing), we all got together without any large incidents! The cousins had the best time! I am so thankful we have times that we get to get together and have fun!

Snap Crackle and Pop the Tile

My husband called me in a panic, and I never listened to the voicemail. When I got home, he told me it sounded like an earthquake in our Florida home. The tile, having already been cracked, lifted "like a drawbridge." We had been delaying replacing the cracked tiles, wanting to redo the entire flooring, but we had been procrastinating. Now, it is time to make the decisions since 4 tiles are no longer attached to the floor. Our old dog won't even walk across them since the are a little noisy. He barks and wants help! Decision and money time now... what to do and how to pay for it!
Find a Great Book!

Fun at the Beach

We had a great time last weekend at the beach for my son's birthday. We went over in the afternoon and made it to the beach at sunset. It was a lot of fun to play in the sand and not worry about getting sun burnt! The kids had a great time (cousins were there for the fun) and got quite sandy! We tried to just get the sand, but of course, they got wet too. Who cares, we dusted off as much as we could and went home at dark.





Find a Great Book!

Back from my Hiatus

Blogging is really a hard habit to break and then a harder habit to get back into. The last month at work was so crazy that I could hardly catch my breathe. By the time I made it home and did my evening activities, there was no energy left. As a mom, I am sure many of you can relate! I am now on summer break and finally have time to breath. I am dedicated to blog again and get back in the habit. So many things have changed over the last two months with my home based business, even my hosting service. I have been working diligently to transfer websites and to get something to put a few extra dollars in my pocket! It has been slow moving and frustrating.

But I am back and blogging!
And I am waiting for Betsy to check in and see how well I have done with this post! :)
Find a Great Book!

Summer Break is Coming

What a break! Sorry for the delay but I will be back to posting soon. School is almost over and summer break is here! Hip Hip Hooray!
Find a Great Book!

Tagged!

Vicki of Simply Vicki tagged me for a blog meme. I have not been tagged in a long time! How much fun is this...

Here are the rules:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1 ) What was I doing 10 years ago?

Teaching, married without children (2 years at that time)

2 ) What are five things on your to-do list for today?

• clean
• clean
  
• procrastinate from cleaning
  
• get my grandmother a mother's day gift
  
• get a card for my mom
  

3 ) What snacks do I enjoy?

• sun chips, pudding, cheese cubes, peanut butter crackers, apples (I had to include something healthy!)
  

4 ) Things I would do if I were a billionaire?

• Give lots to my church
  
• Pay off hubby's student loans
  
• Set up college funds for the kids
  
• Finish master's degree
  
• Not go to teach anymore
  

5 ) Three Bad Habits

• Biting nails
  
• Exercising not regularly
• Not making dinner often enough
  

6 ) 5 places I have lived…

• Phoenix
• Panama City Beach, Florida
  
• Wellington, Florida
  
• Orlando, Florida
  
• Sebring, Florida (and a few more Florida's)

7 ) 5 Jobs I have had

• babysitter
• teacher
• tutor
• business owner
  
• wife and mommy

Tagged blogs...
Tammy's parenting blog
Betsy's Blog
Cindy's Watkins' Blog
Darlene's Watkins' Blog


And that's it. Thanks Vicki!

Spring Cleaning- Bathroom Drawers

Today I worked on cleaning out the bathroom drawers. How does all that get in there? Old make up, buttons, the tweezers I could not find so I bought new ones... all hid away in small little drawers. I am purging old make up and tossing out anything that has not been used- and I am forgoing the recycling on these products just to make it go faster and I will not get bogged down. I have thrown out a garbage can full and have one more drawer to go- then it is under the sinks!

Wow! Why don't you join me and clean yours out too!

Baby Worries

Again, not my baby....

My friends baby most likely has to have a kidney transplant and that cannot happen until the baby is 20 lbs... she is less than 5 lbs now.

So we will wait, and see how the testing goes.

Moms (and dads) have to burden so much for their children, not matter how old. And it never ends.

Please pray for my friends and their baby girl as they continue through the many trails.

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