Puppies vs. Babies! Cast Your Vote!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Alright folks! It's time for the ultimate showdown. The match-up you have all been waiting for is finally here. It all ends in this final battle.

It's Puppies vs. Babies!

Which is cuter?

Cute, cuddly, squishy babies?

or

Furry, slobbery, tail-wagging puppies?

Now is your chance to vote for the winner in the Puppies vs. Babies online contest. Get your votes in from now until November 23rd and get your say in who will ultimately be the top baby or puppy to win!

The winning puppy or baby receives $5,000!

So, you must be wondering who I voted for. Well, I say babies are cuter all the way. Let me explain why.

It all comes down to poop. Have you ever had to clean up puppy poop? Not fun at all! The initial smell alone is enough to make me ill. That's not to mention having to figure out how to get the stains out of your carpet, rug, or furniture.

Not that baby poop is any less nauseous, but at least it is packaged in a small cottony container. You get to wipe, powder, and lotion away the smell and the baby smells heavenly again.

Not to mention the faces and giggles babies make during diaper changes are priceless.

I'm sorry, puppies, but you little critters don't stand a chance!

So leave a comment below telling us which one you will vote for and why. Then pop over to get your vote in before it's too late.

Because the babies have to win!

Crazy Hair Day

Yesterday was crazy hair day at Jacob's school. I gave him a blue and orange Mohawk.

TracFone: Get Into Everywhereness

Tracfone has long been known as the very least expensive cell phone you can get. Lots of people like Tracfone because there are no contracts, no credit checks, no activation, overage, or cancellation charges. Tracfone is the supreme WYSIWYG kind of cell phone.


Get into Everywhereness!

As you can see in the links above, getting a Tracfone is very cheap. There is even one for less than $10.00! They are very easy to set up. As long as you have minutes available, you can make and receive calls and texts. When the minutes are used up, you just buy a new card and add more minutes. Or you can just buy a new Tracfone! You can get phones and minute cards for really cheap from places like Amazon or Walmart.

I know a lot of parents who a Tracfone for their kids to keep in contact with them (along with the kids keeping in touch with their friends) and never have to be worried about outrageous voice or data overages. I bet this can be a significant help during the summer months! Most teenagers would rather text than talk anyway. On average, a text of 160 characters or less costs .3 units, so most minute cards can go a long way by just texting.

I've noticed the most recent kinds of TracFone in stores and it looks like they've improved a lot. They used to be just basic voice phones, and even though you can still buy the simple ones if that is all you want, there are many more to choose from these days. The Tracfone brand names look like they have gotten much better. There are phones with complete QWERTY keyboards and Bluetooth enabled smartphones. You can choose from leading manufacturers like Motorola, Kyocera, LG, Nokia and Samsung packed with features like camera/video recorder, web access, app capabilities, mp3 player for as low as $29.99.


With so many features, it makes it easier than ever to have a fully functional cell phone with no contract.


How to activate your Tracfone

When you first get your Tracfone, you will have to activate it. It's easy. Just punch in the series of numbers that come with it in the package. Test it out by calling someone to make sure it works.

Adding minutes to Tracfone

The minute cards work much the same as the initial activation. Somewhere in the phone's menu, you will find "Add Airtime". Select it and punch in the "Airtime PIN", which is the set of numbers on your card or receipt. Now you are ready to roll again! You can get a minutes card such as 200 minutes for under $30, or as low as $9.99 for 50 minutes. The minutes roll over for up to a year, depending on the card you buy. You can also "Double the minutes for the life of your phone". This is a feature that can be purchased separately for $19.99. This means that any Tracfone minute card you buy will have double minutes upon activating the PIN.


Now it is possible to even call international long distance just like any other phone call. With the International Neighbors program, you can provide family and friends in Mexico or Canada a local phone number in those countries to reach you at your TracFone in the U.S.

And with TracFone phone cards available at thousands of stores across the country, you never have to worry about being without service.

So what are you waiting for? Get a Tracfone and get into Everywhereness!

Witch Drawing

The kids drew this picture for me as a Halloween gift.

They said they worked on it together. I suspect Adreine did most of the artwork. If you look really closely, there's a dot in the corner.

That must have been Jacob's contribution lol.

Social Spark Payment Proof October 2011

Here is my newest payment proof from Social Spark. It is usually more, but I had to cash out early this time. We needed gas money LOL.

I was asked earlier last week how long I had to wait before I began receiving offers from social spark. The truth is I didn't receive that many at first. The ones I did receive were only for 150-500 points, which equals to less than $5 per post.

But I was new to sponsored blog posting, and I was happy to get ANY offers at all. I didn't try to negotiate the little offers. I just accepted them immediately and did my best on every one.

After a few months, I noticed I was getting offers more often. I believe Social Spark privately keeps score on how many posts you submit and how many you let slide through the cracks. They notice consistency.

I also think I did a great job on the post I wrote for Pier 1 Imports. I got creative and wrote it as a Christmas poem. Since then, my offers have been better paying.

Another thing I wanted to mention is that there are slow times with Social Spark. Sometimes weeks can go by with no leads. This doesn't mean that social spark is treating you badly or that they have forgotten you. It just means the advertisers aren't advertising at the moment. Things tend to pick up around holidays and the start of new seasons (spring sales, summer sales, etc).

Oh, and check your SS account dashboard each day for new leads. They don't always send out an email notification for them.

So I hope I have answered that question. If you are thinking about signing up for Social Spark, I highly recommend it. The posts aren't hard to write, and it is a great way to earn a few bucks from your blog!

Book Review: Tristan Trains as a Therapy Dog by Trudee Lewis

Tristan ​Trains a​s a Ther​apy Dog:​ A Trist​an and T​rudee St​ory​

Trudee Lewis writes children's books about a fluffy white bichon dog named Tristan. Tristan loves people and people love him.

In Lewis's books, children can follow along with Tristan as he trains to be a real therapy dog. There are also eight other books which present Tristan having other adventures such as taking a bath, going for a walk, and getting a haircut.

It is recommended for ages 4-8, and is designed to help with concepts of teaching language. This would be great for any child who loves animals, especially dogs. They can come along with Tristan as he is cleaned, groomed, and brushed. They can smile as he looks, runs, sniffs, listens, licks, loves, and is loved by all of his friends.

Each book is approximately 20-30 pages long, and features full color photos of Tristan along his adventures.

Trudee Lewis grew up in Ashland, Oregon. She received her B.S. from the University of Oregon and her M.A. from Western Michigan in Speech Pathology. Trudee retired as a speech and language therapist after 37 years. She and Tristan live in Napa, Ca. and work as a therapy team in Paws for Healing. This is the first of nine books written about Tristan's adventures.

Chocolate Covered Spiders Recipe

This Halloween recipe is creepy, crunchy, and super easy to make.

1 bag chow mein noodles
1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat the chocolate chips in a saucepan on VERY low heat while stirring. Do this until the chocolate is melted and smooth. 

Stir in the chow mein noodles until they are coated. 

Create the spiders by dropping spoonfuls of the mixture onto wax paper. 

They will become firm as they cool. They can then be stored in zippered plastic or Halloween party bags. 

Enjoy!

Halloween on a Budget

Is your budget in a crunch for Halloween this year? Ours is! Halloween can easily get expensive, but it doesn't have to be. You can save money during Halloween without sacrificing fun for your kids at all.

Here are some things we are doing this year to keep Halloween fun without sucking the life out of our bank account (pun intended).

Making our own costumes. This year, we are going the route of making our own costumes instead of buying them. Adreine can't seem to make up her mind which out of two costumes she wants to try: a punk chick vampire or Samara from The Ring. Either one would be quite easy because I will go to the local thrift shops and find any clothes that are needed for very cheap.

Then again, we may have some good things buried in my closet. My daily attire is almost creepy enough to work...

Shoestring decorations. Did you know you can make bats from cardboard and a black marker to hang from the trees? You can also make spider webs with black or white yarn. Tombstones can be made with cardboard or styrofoam. And let's not forget shopping at the thrift store for old white sheets to make ghosts!

If you put on your thinking cap, you will find that spooky decorations can be made almost solely out of odds and ends you have stashed away in the shed or garage. Just be creative.
　
Candy and food. This is a tough one, since one of the purposes for trick-or-treating is the candy. The very top of the Halloween candy pyramid is chocolate bars. But I know full well that 99% of the chocolate in kids' candy bags are stolen by the parents anyway!

But just the same, there are loads of sites that let you print out coupons for many different brands of candy.

I also like to cook a Halloween themed family dinner on Halloween night. I almost always cook TOO MUCH. I will try to scale back this year with some less elaborate recipes that can be whipped up quickly.

Barbeque wings will be cooked in the crock pot and be called BBQ Bat Wings.

Coleslaw will be tossed with dried cranberries to become Blood Clot & Cartilage Salad.

If your kid won't eat coleslaw, you can do the same thing in chicken salad sandwiches.

Dessert seems like a non issue with all the caddy around, but I will think of something.

What will you be doing this year to have a more frugal Halloween? Remember, it's not the money spent that matters to our little ones as much as the time we spend with them.

Walmart Prank Call

It's been awhile since I posted a video here. Enjoy a video of a guy prank calling Walmart. It's in two parts, and it's funny. I wish I could do it, but I wouldn't be able to keep from laughing.

There's a bit of bad language in it, just so you're aware.

Mario in Legos

Jacob is very creative with his legos. This weekend, he used them to spell Mario's name in the living room.



It amazes me that he did that all by himself!

Halloween Kitty Cat Litter Cake Recipe

Here is a photo of the kitty cat litter cake I usually make every Halloween. However after going over the spooky menu this year, I noticed that the recipe for it makes much more than we can possibly eat in our family. Last year we gave most of it away.



Although I won't be making it this year, I am sharing my recipe for it here. It is still a disgusting looking addition to any Halloween treat-fest!


Ingredients:

A NEW cat litter box and poop scooper.

1 (18.25 ounce) package German
chocolate cake mix

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix

2 (3.5 ounce) packages instant vanilla
pudding mix

1 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers
cookies

3 drops green food coloring

1 (12 ounce) package tootsie rolls


Directions:

1. Prepare cake mixes and bake according to package directions (doesn't matter what pan size).

2. Prepare pudding according to package directions and chill until ready to assemble.

3. Crumble the vanilla wafers by putting them in a zippered freezer bag and pounding them with a large spoon. They are supposed to be a little coarse to resemble cat litter pellets. Set aside all but 1/4 cup. To the 1/4 cup add a few drops of green food coloring and mix.

4. When cakes are cooled to room temperature, crumble them into a large bowl. Toss with 1/2 of the remaining cookie crumbs, and the chilled pudding. You probably won't need all of the pudding, you want the cake to be just moist, not soggy.

5. Line kitty litter box with the kitty litter liner. Put cake mixture into box.

6. Put half of the unwrapped tootsie rolls in a microwave safe dish and heat until softened. Shape the ends so that they are no longer blunt, and curve the tootsie rolls slightly. They are supposed to look like cat turds LOL. Bury tootsie rolls randomly in the cake and sprinkle with half of the remaining cookie crumbs. Sprinkle a small amount of the green colored cookie crumbs lightly over the top.

7. Spread the rest randomly over top of cake mixture. Sprinkle with any remaining cookie crumbs. Hang one remaining tootsie roll over side of litter box and sprinkle with a few green cookie crumbs.

Serve with the pooper scooper for a gross Halloween dessert.

Trust me, people will talk about this cake for weeks on end!

T.G.I. Friday's Entrees for One: Make Your Freezer Fun!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of T.G.I. FRiDAY'S for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Adam and I LOVE to eat at T.G.I. Friday's! Their food is bold, flavorful, and never boring. We like to order different dishes, then eat off each others' plates so we get to taste them both.

He and I have also tried their frozen foods, which are probably the best-tasting snacks you will find in the freezer section of the supermarket. Most other frozen foods promise great taste, but all you really get is BLAND.

But the new line of T.G.I. FRiDAY’S “Entrées for One” solves frozen food boredom with nine new entrées inspired by the bold and fun flavors of the famed T.G.I. FRiDAY’S restaurants.

From Sizzling Steak Fajitas to Cajun-Style Chicken Alfredo, the new varieties infuse a fresh new flavor and shake things up in the frozen food category.

 

Adam and I picked up the Steak Fajita one this week. He loved it. Coming from Adam, that's saying a lot. He is a tremendous food critic!

The meal consists of  flour tortillas wrapped around seared steak, strips of bell peppers, and onions. It also comes with cheesy rice, which tastes just as good as the fajita. The best part is that it only took about 5 minutes to cook.

 

Which one would be your favorite? You have to try them to find out.

You can also check out their Fun Freezer contest on Facebook. Vote for the winning freezer and join the dinner party today!

How To Manage Your Time As a Mom Blogger

Whether you are a stay-at-home mom, a work-at-home mom, or a mom blogger, here are some of my tips for getting it all done.

It can be difficult to juggle the demands of kids, housework, husband, blogging, appointments, and (eek!) laundry! And even when you do keep the plates spinning for a moment, life throws another one into the juggling act.

I know how frustrating it is. Many people assume that stay-at-home moms have it easy. Whether you work outside the home or not, there is still a lot to be done in each day. My lack of time management skills has gotten me into more pickles than I could sit and write about!

So today I want to share some tips to help blogging housewives stay on track (and sane).

Make a blogging schedule and STICK TO IT!
If you enjoy blogging (or any other work at home venture), it's hard not to devote every waking moment to writing, editing, and brainstorming new ideas. If you find yourself still sitting at your computer long after the rest of the family has gone to bed, then you need to map out a realistic schedule of exactly when you will work. Being at home with your family doesn't do you any good if you are always distracted.

Here's what I did. I sat down and wrote a list of the things that need to be accomplished each day. I estimated how much time it should take me to do those tasks. Then I decided that I will only sit at the computer from 9 am to 1 pm each day.

Then I taped a copy of my schedule to the screen of my monitor. Yes, I am THAT bad! Now if I am even tempted to use the computer thinking, "Oh, I will just check my email, it'll only take a moment...", I see my schedule there on the empty screen and I know to just walk away. The email will still be there at 9 am in the morning.

This time frame works for me because both of my kids are in school during the day. If you have a baby, you may want to create a schedule that works around your baby's nap time.

I also recommend jotting down a quick morning and evening routine for housework. By doing a few simple tasks each day, you can keep your home tidy and still have time for your family and yourself. For more information on housework routines, visit Flylady.net. This woman is amazing at showing you how to get it all done without feeling overworked or overwhelmed.

Another secret of mine is to get up in the morning as early as possible. By having a bit of quiet time to myself, I find that I am more relaxed and less stressed. By the time my kids get up for school, I am already dressed, coffee-ed, and ready to take on the day!

Don't try to multi-task.
It's hard not to multi-task if you're a mom. How many times have you agreed to a request your child made while you were on the phone? When the phone call is over, you don't even remember what you gave them permission to do. Then your kids are confused and bewildered when you yell at them for stacking the couch cushions all the way to the ceiling fan. Adreine is as skilled as a ninja at this! She will deliberately wait until I am distracted to ask me for something that she knows the answer would normally be "No".

For me, multi-tasking usually results in a dozen or more half-finished projects at the end of the day. Have you ever gone to bed feeling exhausted but nothing seemed to get done all day? Focus on doing one thing at a time on your routines. You may not get as much done in a day, but the things you DID do will be more centered and worthwhile. You will feel much more accomplished at the end of the day.

Identify your time wasters.
So you sit down at the computer to write a blog post, but you decide to check your Facebook first. After two hours of commenting, liking, poking, and checking on your Farmville crops, you are no closer to getting that post done.

Whether your time waster is Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, or your cell phone, know which things are draining your time each day and limit those activities.

Find time for yourself, your kids, and your husband.
Family should always come first. Your relationship with your husband and kids will suffer if you are always looking at them from behind a laptop screen. Be sure to plan quality time with them. This will help everyone recharge and avoid burn-out. Sometimes coloring a picture with your toddler is much more important than the laundry, or the next blog post.

To be candid for a moment, I will admit that this blog post is inspired by a huge argument between my husband and me. When you take on more projects than you can handle in 24 hours a day, it's easy to forget what a blessing it is to be home with your family everyday.

Mother Teresa said, "It’s not how much you do that matters. It's how much love you put into doing it."

Thanks for keeping me focused on the big picture, Pete. Mwwwah!

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Coupon Code: 25% Off Coffee Machines

If you love coffee as much as I do, you will definitely want to check this offer out!

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf company combines Italian technology and beautiful design to create single cup coffee machines that are as pleasing to the eye as they are the taste buds!


Their one-touch coffee machines are gorgeous to look at. They are also very easy to use. With a touch of a button, you can brew fresh espresso, brewed coffee or tea.

Their fresh-sealed coffee and tea capsules come in many flavors from full-bodied smoky roasts to light, subtle buttery flavors. Their proprietary tea and coffee capsules are designed to lock in optimum flavor and lock out environmental factors that can affect taste and aroma.


For a limited time, they are offering a blogger exclusive coupon code for 25% off their single-cup coffee machines. The Coupon Code is "BLOG".

So click over to see how beautiful they are, and order your single serve coffee maker today!

Shadow Hiding

He thinks I can't see him...

Entrecard Review: Pros and Cons

Entrecard helps blogs get free traffic and visitors. What are the pros and cons of using it?



Entrecard is a free blog advertising exchange network. It is a great way to increase visitors to your blog. I have used it for a couple of years. There are a few downsides to using it though. Some bloggers wonder if it is worth the trouble.

Here are some things that I have learned through using Entrecard.

Pros

- Lots of free traffic. First and foremost, Entrecard does what it says it does. It helps draw tou tons of free visitors to your blog.

- Easy to use. Entreard is very easy to figure out. You drop your card on other blogs to earn credits that you can use for advertising. You can also earn credits when others advertise on your blog. By investing some time each day, it is quite easy to make it to the most popular blogs section within your topic.

- Potential to gain loyal readers. If your 125 x 125 image stands out and your posts are compelling, your entrecard visitors will be more likely to subscribe or return to read your future posts.

- Potential to make money. With such an increase in blog traffic, there is a potential to gain customers if some of them click on your offers on your blog.


Cons

- Increased bounce rate. Sadly, most Entrecard users will just drop and run, causing your bounce rate to soar. This may affect your search engine rankings.

- Most traffic is not targeted. However, you can balance that out by dropping and advertising mainly within your blog's niche or topic.

- Time consuming. You are allowed to drop up to 300 cards a day to gain credits, but it takes awhile to do this. The fastest I've ever been able to do it is a couple of hours. Most of the time, I don't bother trying to drop 300 cards. I prefer to take my time and read blog posts that interest me along the way.



Tips for getting the most out of Entrecard

- Drop at least 100 cards a day. This is plenty to keep you active in the Entrecard community without spending an entire afternoon at it.

- Visit and comment on the blogs that interest you. This is the reason behind Entrecard in the first place. I like to keep my favorites in a bookmark folder of my browser.

- Use the Entrecard toolbar. If you use Firefox, the toolbar makes it much easier. You can set your favorites within the toolbar as well. You can download it here.

- Have fun with it. Write quick reviews for the blogs you like. Most Entrecard users are very friendly and will return the favor.


Overall I think Entrecard is worth a try. It brings lots of free traffic. I have found many blogs that I love through using it. If your blog is new and you are struggling to get those first readers, Entrecard may be just what you need to get you started.