Good things come in small packages...

If you were planning on stopping by Starbucks over the next few days, take advantage of this offer:

"Come into a participating store between 2-5 p.m., March 10-12, purchase any handcrafted beverage and enjoy a Starbucks Petite treat on us!"

You don't have to ask me twice! ;-)

Get cultured for less

Living in a "big city" now, I am amazed at the amount of free stuff available! There is something going on almost every week that we could take advantage of--athletic events, free passes to places, free food, etc. And fortunately I have a few friends in the area who keep up on this stuff much better than I do, and they keep me informed of all the fun things to do with my kids. :-)


~~I have not taking advantage of this yet, but we will soon! Free passes to all kinds of cool places in our area---they are called "cultural passes" and they are offered through our local library system. Check it out in your area--your local library or chamber of commerce may offer something like this!

~~I am going here this weekend, and I know many towns do similar things. It is fun to walk around and get ideas for decorating my house. Plus, Panera is right there..... ;-) Farmer's Markets are also fun things to do with the family. Find one in a town near you, and plan to eat lunch there---you can always find delicious home-made stuff! (And check out the pictures from the antique market.....they are great!)

~~Another resource that I check often is the local (free) parent magazine. It often has things to do listed by month, as well as coupons for certain events or places. Pick one up next time you are at the grocery store!

What do you like to do for free in your area?

The simple things make me happy.....

If you happen to have some free time on February 21st, you may want to check out
this class at Pottery Barn Kids. Two of my favorite words are involved:

FREE and DECORATING.

(My other favorite words are "food" and "coffee". :-)


And make sure you register for this class--it fills up fast!


Unfortunately I cannot attend.....I will be hosting a party for TEN 1st & 2nd grade girls.

Grateful

I know everyone will be posting about Thanksgiving over the next week....and since I am not creative, I will jump on the bandwagon and do the same. :-)

As I began to write this post though, I realized how difficult it is to really state what you are most thankful for. Especially when you have to narrow it down to 5 things.

I feel like I am going to miss something, or somehow sound trivial.

But here goes......maybe I will do a "Friday Fifteen" next year. :-)

My Five "Top Things I Am Grateful For":

1) my undeserving salvation from sin and hell, provided by the grace of my
loving God

2) my wonderful, loving husband, who is one of the most conscientious,patient, and knowledgeable people I know

3) my beautiful, funny and creative children, who teach me something new everyday

4) my family's good health.....I do not take it for granted!

5) the beautiful state that we live in....I am daily amazed by the wonders of Creation surrounding us here

As I said before, there are so many more things I am grateful for that I could take up the whole screen!! I am truly blessed, even when things don't seem to be going "right" according to our human standards. I am surrounded by wonderful loving extended family and great friends......we have a nice home to live in, as well as a "vacation home" in Wisconsin. :-) Ha! And the guidance of Scripture is an amazing blessing to those of us who follow Christ.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me beyond belief!

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Another thing to be thankful for......

The "Holiday Taste of Sam's Club" is going on this weekend (Nov. 21-23). From what I could see, there is going to be a HAUL of samples, so you can spend your Friday date night at Sam's and do just fine. :-) Check it out here, and see if your local Sam's is participating! My family will be taking a nice family trip to Sam's tonight.......no cooking for me. Woo-hoo!

O....thanks.......

Who are the two of the most influential people in America, as of last week?

I'll give you some clues......

1) They are both considered a minority.
2) They are both from Chicago.
3) They both begin with "O".

Figured them out yet?

Well, one of them is giving away something cool on their website. You can guess which one.....it probably won't be too hard. (The other one will be giving away our tax dollars in a short while....)

Check it out HERE. Click on the link half-way down that says "get your free book"--I am going to try to create mine right now. It's worth a shot, for something free! :-)

Patriotism or coffee addiction?

I just got an email from Starbucks yesterday. (Here's the video about it too.....)

Apparently, they really want "someone" to get into office, so they are bribing all of their customers to vote. If you vote today--Election Day '08--you can then go into your local Starbucks and tell them, thus earning yourself a free cup of joe.

Now, because of the things I know about Starbucks and their interests, I am pretty sure that a high percentage of their customers will be voting for the candidate starting with "O". I am sure their tactic is to lure their left-leaning customers to the polls, enticed by the offer of free brew.

But I am going to throw off their little scheme, and haul my conservative self into my corner Starbucks, snatch up my free coffee, and leave--knowing that I voted for a different candidate, one beginning with an "Mc". I am also suggesting that all of my right-leaning readers should do the same!

We may not get our candidate elected......but we will all enjoy our free cup of coffee, knowing that we would probably tick off Starbucks upper management if they knew who we had voted for. :-)

*****EDIT: My hubby just informed me that Starbucks has to give free coffee to EVERYONE who asks...they aren't allowed to ask if you have voted or not. I think they will be losing some money today......

Poor, poor horse.....

What's the expression???

"Don't kill a dead cow"...No.

"Don't shoot a dead dog"......doesn't sound quite right.

Oh wait, "Don't beat a dead horse."

Yep, that's it. And that is exactly what I am going to do in this post.

I have ranted numerous times about the joyous rewards of Ebates. I have whined and begged and even coerced at times, trying to get my dear readers to sign up for this money-making (free) opportunity. A few of my faithful followers have complied and signed up but sadly.....have never purchased anything! Therefore, they have not reaped the benefits of their free Ebates' membership!

So---in order to fulfill the idiom that I previously referred to (in case you have forgotten, it is "don't beat a dead horse"), I am going to once again rave on and on about the advantages of joining Ebates. I am also going to point out the $30+ that I have earned in the past six months, just for buying things online that I normally would buy anyway. I am going to stress the ease that accompanies your signing up for this FREE program. And I am going to throw in that if you sign up before October 31st AND BUY SOMETHING, you and I will both earn $10 cashback.

(The horse is almost demolished, but I must give one more kick.)

My favorite way to earn cashback on Ebates is by purchasing all of my digital prints at Snapfish. I earn 10% back, by buying the prints and photo gifts that I normally would.

If, after this tirade, you are even remotely interested in Ebates, please sign up through
this link so that I can see that you tried to humor me. And if you really are my friend, you will sign up and buy me something at Target (earning yourself a nice 4% cash back!). :-)

RIP, dear horse.

P.S. If you have any questions about signing up, purchasing, or anything about how Ebates works--please feel free to email me or leave a comment here! I would be glad to help you out--because it means we will both earn a free $10. :-)

We all scream for (free) ice cream

In case any of you like ice cream as much as I do......

....you might want to be here on Sept. 25th. I am hauling my whole family down there--they will think twice about having this promotion again when they see us walk in! :-)

(And it is for a very sweet cause.....)

Will give away personal info for free coffee....

I know I just posted about this place but my husband found a fabulous reason to post about it again. If you register your Starbucks card online, you will be blessed with all sorts of "perks". I will soon be receiving two (that's right--2!) free beverage coupons in the mail for registering both of my giftcards. So, if you have any Starbucks cards sitting around and have a few minutes to spare-- jump online, register them here, and see what extra things you can get on your next visit!

Who couldn't use a little publicity?

You all need to head over to Bloggy Giveways and enter the blog carnival she is setting up at the end of the month. I go on her site almost every day, and enter all of the contests, hoping to win something great. :-) But even if I don't, it is fun to see all of the other bloggers that comment and "cruise" when I have the time.
I will be giving away a fun Usborne book (just to entice any of you!~) ......what can you find to give away? I know Sara has some pictures lying around that I would LOVE to win!
Let the giveaways begin!!!!!!

Free is ALWAYS good! ;-)

If you haven't checked out this site from my sidebar yet, you really should! I always like the thrill of a giveaway.....in fact, I just won a yummy smelling candle, all because I signed up for a drawing at a craft fair. And I don't win things often, so I was thrilled. (Although.... I won that picture from Sara's blog also, so maybe my "luck" is picking up!!!!)
Anyways, check out and let me know if you win anything!