bring on the free stuff… August 6, 2008

Here we go again…

Free stuff from Allure Magazine…they have lots of freebies as well as some contests to enter.

Today only - get a roll of film developed for free at Walgreens. Time to look in your junk drawer…you know there is an old roll of film rolling around in there!

Sign up for 2 free issues of Family Circle (no strings attached).

Get a coupon for a free bag of Iams pet food. Don’t you just love getting Post-It samples? I do! Get a free potty training kit from Pull-Ups. I wonder if this would work on Winnie?!

Free Fiber One sample. Coupon for a free meal at Captain D’s. Free pocket model from Star Wars. Free Ducks Unlimited decal. Free pads and tampons from being girl. Free monitor wipes.

Have a great day!

Curiosity…won’t kill the cat. August 5, 2008

I found this great site called The Curiosity Shoppe.  I am usually really turned off by stores that spell shop with 2 p’s and an e…but I decided to give it a try.  Their tagline is “Crafts, Kits, and Curios for the creatively inclined”.  You can spend a lot of time looking at their goodies!  Here are some things that I liked…

• Dishware Decals - These cute little decals would be so fun to use.  Once they go on they will stay in place until you are ready to remove them.  Only $6 a sheet!

• Paint by Number kit - Who doesn’t love a paint by number?  Very fun..very retro.

• Apple Jacket - Every apple should have a jacket.  Wouldn’t this be a great gift for your child to bring to their teacher on the first day of school?

What a weekend!! August 3, 2008

What a great weekend this was! The concert Friday night was awesome. We were able to go backstage to meet Taylor Swift…she is such a cutie! I loved seeing her be so great with the little kids that came back to meet her…she seems so genuine! We had our picture made with her and got her autograph…made me feel like a groupie. The biggest surprise of the night was when we finally made it to our seats and realized that they were in the front (and center of the stage) row! We were shocked…we never realized that they were in the front row. I have never ever been this close for a concert…it was such an adrenaline rush. Rascal Flatts puts on an amazing show and it was so neat to be in the front. Gary LeVox actually grabbed my hand for a second!!

The celebrity sightings didn’t end Friday night. On Saturday night Mike and I went out to the Olive Garden to grab a quick bite. One of my very favorite students named Ben gave me a gift certificate to OG. While waiting on our table in walks Cohutta from the Real World Sydney! He was super short…but still very cute.

The perfect end to our weekend was picking up the girls from the airport. They looked like pack mules and must have brought home most of New York City! They couldn’t stop talking about all of the amazing things that they got to do and see. Sailing lessons, shopping, eating lots of yummy food, Mama Mia on Broadway, the MOMA, and much more! They did spend about 3 hours in one of my favorite shops - Pearl River.

As if this weekend couldn’t possible get any better…it did!  I just found out that I won a giveaway from The Cat’s Pajamas!!  A super cute monogrammed lunch tote…now I have to decide on the color.  She has a super cute blog and is celebrating her blogiversary.  Go wish her a happy one year anniversary!

Now we will try to settle in and get ready for the start of school in 1 week. Ack!! I can’t believe we have another Summer under our belts. Time sure does fly.

Me and My Gang…. August 1, 2008

I’m so excited…I’m going to see Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift perform tonight!! I can’t wait! My girlfriends and I are heading out this afternoon to ensure plenty of time for tailgating. While I have seen Rascal Flats in concert before (and loved it) I have never seen Taylor play. Riley just loves her and begged me to try to get her autograph for her. I happen to love her Liberty boots that she has created. They are so cute!

BTW….Happy Birthday Mike!

I have a taste for… July 31, 2008

Summer makes me want to eat seafood. The girls have been reporting back to me daily from their trip. Last night they told me that the went out to eat at the Country Club and had Crab Baltimore for the first time. I had to ask them what exactly Crab Baltimore was. Well, it is simply crab, butter, and lemon. Thats what I like so much about cooking seafood - you can do it simply. My favorite recipe is my spicy shrimp. All you need is shrimp, beer, butter, garlic, and Tabasco. Yummy! Do you have a favorite seafood recipe? If so, you should enter it in the Great American Seafood Cook off put on by The Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board. You can win big prizes! Not only is this event a great way to showcase your favorite seafood recipe, it also promotes the use of domestic seafood. I like to buy domestic because I can be assured that is is local and fresh - and that is very important to me! So why not give it a whirl? Enter your best seafood recipe in the Cook off. Maybe you could even share your recipe with me…I have to be able to create all this fancy food my girls have been used to this past week!

Its all Greek to me! July 31, 2008

Maybe it is to much time on my hands…maybe procrastination ( I did get the cabinets painted…they look awesome) but I have been playing around on the internet lately.  My sister Amy added me as a friend to her Facebook account.  Okay.  I had to join to accept her offer.  That was no problem.  The problem is that I don’t quite get it yet.  You send people virtual gifts - like a hug, a cake, or a beer.  You poke people ( I still haven’t figured this one out), play little games, and you let everyone know what you are doing at any given moment.  Do you Facebook?  If so, what do you like best about it?  Help a girl out!

I also spent some time creating my very own wordle today.  These are really cool snapshots of your blog (or random words that you like) put into really cool collages.  It is so fun to create these.  You can post them on your blog, print them, or post them to the gallery.

Do you play on the internet?  Where?

Take some time for some freebies… July 30, 2008

I have been so busy trying to get my kitchen cabinets finished (almost done) that I have not had much of a chance to round up my freebies for the week!  Here is what I came up with…

Join the Cheerios Challenge and get a free box! Try out a sample of Oatmeal Crisp cereal.

Take your kids to Home Depot this weekend to build a nifty flag holder- for free!

This is a great deal….Go to Borders online (remember to use Ebates if you are a member- you will get cash back on your purchase)) and use the code BR41925 to get $5 off every book you purchase!  I picked out 34 books and only paid $4.44!  You can choose to pick your books up at the store and you won’t have to pay anything for shipping!!  Beware…their site is super duper slow!  It takes a loooong time to do anything on the site.

Have fun book shopping!

Peace and Quiet. July 29, 2008

Spending lots of time this week sitting out on the deck enjoying a cold glass of anything.  Ah…peace and quiet.  I found these really cool candles that I can stick in my empty wine bottle to add a little ambiance to my peaceful moments alone (all alone).  Can you tell I miss my girls a whole bunch?

Whew! July 28, 2008

What a weekend!  We sent the girls off to visit their Aunt & Uncle in NYC.  They are spending most of the week in Eagles Mere and ending the week in the city.  The lucky ducks get to go see Mama Mia on Broadway Saturday night.  We had a few tears when they left (no, they weren’t all mine), but they are having a great time with their Aunt and Uncle.  So what do you do when your kids leave?  Mike and I decided to paint the kitchen cabinets.  Pretty insane don’t you think?  This is a BIG project.  The prep work alone will kill you.  I am happy to report that we are almost done!  My favorite part of the project was getting to use my super cute Ladies Tool Kit.  You know how much I love pink :)  I love that it is my very own set of tools - I don’t have to go rummaging around in the basement for Mike’s stuff.  This would make a super gift for someone who is going off to college this Fall.

I’m off to put another coat of paint on the cabinets (this will be the 4th coat) and get myself cleaned up for my much needed massage this afternoon!

Make some money!! July 25, 2008

I know you have all heard me talk about Ebates before…some of you have tried it and love it…others are not sure what to think about it.  I personally love it.  Each time I purchase something on the internet I first go to Ebates and then click through to the store of my choice.  A portion of my purchase is credited back to me.  Sometimes you get lots for buying and sometimes it might be only a few cents.  But it all adds up!  I got over $5 back for buying a $7 magazine subscription the other day.  I use Ebates a lot for my restaurant.com purchases.  You get 15% back for each purchase.  Right now you can get $10 for signing up for Ebates.  You will receive your $10 after making your first purchase.  Restaurant.com is having a 70% off sale which would make it a great (and cheap) first purchase.  You will pay $3 for a $25 restaurant gift certificate, get your $10 for signing up, and get another 45 cents for your purchase!!  So now you have made $7.45 and a free $25 restaurant.com gift certificate!!  Why not try to make a little extra money in this crazy economy?