Mega Swag Bucks

I love Swag Bucks!  It's my favorite site!  And guess what ... it's Mega Swag Bucks Day!

MSBD means you have a higher chance to earn Swag Bucks (digital dollars).  And when you earn enough Swag Bucks, you can trade them in for some pretty sweet prizes, including gift cards!  You can use these for Christmas gifts!

There are a lot of ways to earn Swag Bucks .... from searching the internet to entering Swag Codes!  If searching for the codes makes you antsy, here is a simple way to find them: just click on Swag Codes on the widget below, and check to see if a code is available!






To sign up, simply fill out the short form, and start earning!

Happy New Year & a Giveaway!

Happy New Year!  I hope 2012 looks brighter for us than 2011.

Here is one happy note .... a giveaway from Rafflecopter!  Hurry and enter, because you could win an iPad or even a Kindle Fire!  Wahoo!

And, please be sure to put my name as the one who referred you.  Thanks!

All I Want For Christmas ...

Can you guess what I'd like for Christmas?  I'll give you a hint ...

Yep, you guessed it.  A job!  The search still continues ... I hope it doesn't last much longer.  An income would be nice!

Happy, Happy Holidays!!

Did you know there is only ONE week until Christmas Eve?  Crazy!  Time flies by very fast.

I love the holidays!  Visiting family, great shopping deals, and fun giveaways.  And guess what ... I won my cousin's giveaway!  Here is what she said on her blog:

Speaking of deals, we went to Old Navy today and I got their jingle jammies for $5 each ... normally about $17!  That is like Deseret Industries price!

The holidays are happy!

Merry Christmas!

Reuse to Recycle!

If you're like us, you have a million plastic shopping bags in your home.  Sure, we re-use them as garbage bags, but we still have more than we can count! 

Here are just a few tips to keep in mind for re-using the shopping bags.  Because, remember, re-using is better than just throwing away!

• Store several bags in the glove box of your car to use as on-the-go garbage bags.
• Do away with packing peanuts. Use plastic bags as cushioning material when mailing packages. (Trust me, it works!)
• Create something new. Search the Internet for "plastic bag crafts" to discover instructions for a wide range of fun, surprising projects.
• Keep extra bags in your suitcase to separate clean duds from dirty or to keep your running shoes away from your work clothes. Plastic bags are handy for hauling wet swimsuits back home, too.
• Entertain your kids (or yourself!). Take a small doll or action figure and tie the handles of a plastic bag onto its arms. Drop the doll from a height. Instant parachute.
• Plastic bags are just the right size for bathroom or bedroom wastebaskets. Hint: Place several in the bottom of the basket first for quick changes.
• Wrap frozen foods in plastic bags on your commute. The bag prevents condensation from leaking onto other foods in your lunchbox.
• Reuse the plastic bags you have on hand as grocery bags!  They were created to carry groceries, so put them back to work during your next trip to the store.

For more great ideas, visit Michelina's webpage.

Giving Thanks

I hope everyone had a save and wonderful Thanksgiving ... complete with family and a nice Turkey dinner!

John and I spent the day at his sister's house with all of his siblings, mom, and grandparents! John made two dishes of green bean casserole (one with bacon, one without). We arrived around 1:30 pm, and helped set the table and prepare the rest of the dinner, which was delicious!!

After dinner, we watched the rest of the Turkey Bowl game.  When that was almost over, we went back in the kitchen for some pie, muddy buddies, and sweet chex mix. I ate a piece of chocolate pie.  Yum! After dessert, we watched The Christmas Card. That was a good movie! I recommend watching it.

Later that evening, we went over to visit John's dad and family.  We brought the game Imaginiff over, and had a good time playing it while I looked through ads for Black Friday deals.

I am thankful for family!

Re-Post: Christmas fun!

I am getting anxious for the holidays -- Thanksgiving and Christmas!  We have a tradition of waiting to put up Christmas decorations until after Thanksgiving ... but it's so hard when the radio station is already playing Christmas music!

Enjoy this post of some of our festivities!!

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Originally posted 12/31/07

We went to John's mom's house for Christmas Eve. They draw names for Christmas during Thanksgiving. We had a white dinner and then opened presents. We drew Joe (a set of black dishes) and John's grandma (a turtle massager and cups). Dan got me a stuffed kitty from Build a Bear Workshop and Katie & Luke got John a really nice winter coat.

John and I had a spectacular Christmas this year!

First, we woke up and went to breakfast at my parent's house. We had: pancakes, homemade hashbrowns, eggs, sausage, bagels (I don't think anyone ate one though), and juice.

Next, we went back to our apartment to open presents. I made sure we listened to the Carpenters Christmas, since I want to keep that tradition going. I got John: Brigadoon, a pocket watch, and later a wallet. John got me: a scrapbooking set (complete with TWO albums), a nice leather(?) purse, a toy boat with toy people for the bath (because I liked to float my puff scrubber while saying "toot-toot"), a nice diamond necklace, a stuffed giraffe, perfume, and earlier toy fishes to play with in the bath.

Then, we took our time getting ready for the actual day. We made sure to bring everyone's presents and our dinner portion, and then went to my parent's house. We ate dinner first. Then we opened presents. I got a lot of giraffe stuff because my family knows I like giraffes. John got a camping/traveling pillow. John and I got a nice framed picture of the Jordan River temple.

Tonight we're going to the Provo Town Centre First Night activities to celebrate New Years Eve! :D

Re-Post: Fun times with John on St. Patrick's Day! ü

Life has been rather boring lately.  Either that, or I've lost my umph to post blog updates.  Either way ... please enjoy reading these re-posts while I try to make life exciting and figure out how to put it in writing!

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Originally posted 3/19/07

John and I went to the plasma donation center to donate on St. Patrick's Day. He went at 10:30am and then waited there for me to come in at 1:00pm. It took forever the first time with all the paperwork and everything!! And then finally after all that it felt a little weird to be stuck with a needle. It wasn't too bad though because I focused on the movie they were showing instead. But I'm glad that I got $30! When I went back out to John, I drank some CapriSun and asked which of John's arms he had them used ... and he said that he wasn't able to donate. Hmph! All that and he didn't even go through with it! Oh well. The next few times will be faster, so it won't be too bad. I'm just glad John was there in the building when I did it for the first time, because in the back room that's what kept me calm was thinking about him.


I brought John to work with me after that so I could put in a few more hours. I got so dizzy at work.. it wasn't too fun. Then we went to his home ward's stake center to go on an activity to Soldier Hollow. We went tubing down what looked like ski jumps! It was so awesome! We went once separately down the longer runs and then the rest of the time we went on the shorter ones. I loved the pulley system they used to pull the tubes up the hill. :) My arm hurt the entire time, but I tried ignoring it. One time when we walked up to the top of the sled runs, John came up behind me and put his arm around my waist and told me he loved me. :) He's so nice!! After tubing, we were so freezing we went inside and bought some real food, and then got some doughnuts and hot chocolate from the nice stake people.


I love being with John on holidays!!

Memories

Ah, memories ... time flies fast! 

Do you ever think back on the past, and remember something you thought was just pointless --- and you wonder "Why do I remember that?"

I do!  I think back often to those happier times ... times when I was a kid and didn't have adult responsibilities and stress!   

Here is my "Pointless Memories" list:

• After church on Sundays, we would make Ramen Noodles for lunch.  But we wouldn't eat it plain ... we would add a can of chili to the pot!  It's good -- go ahead, try it!
• When I got upset, I liked to go outside.  I would either spend time with our cats, or just sit on the lawn.  Our Missouri lawn consisted of grass, weeds, and three-leaf clovers.  One time, I decided to see if I could find a four-leaf clover ...  and I did!  I still have that clover!
• Every summer we would go on family vacations in the family van with a white trailer (later years were in a mini motorhome).  A lot of those vacations involved camping in tents.  I remember building 'stick houses' out of tree branches when we were camping.
• One time, while visiting my grandma in Joplin, everyone got out of the car and the doors locked.  And my dad left the keys inside!  We had to unlock the car with a coat hanger.
• In the 7th or 8th grade, during math class, I was getting picked on by one of the class bullies.  He put a dead fly on my head.  I hope karma ran its course.
• I remember one of the first times I was allowed to drive without a parent.  My sister Rebecca and I went to the Neosho Walmart.  Upon returning, I could not find my driver's license.  So, I had to go back (I'm not sure who went with me that time), and sure enough, it was on the ground ... right next to where I parked.
• When I went to college for a year, I'd often-times eat lunch in the car, so I could listen to music at the same time.  One of those days, after classes, I went to start the car, but it wouldn't start.  The battery died.  I had to call home, and my parents (one or both of them) came to jump-start the car.
  Addition
• When we were younger, the kids took showers/baths on Saturday night.  Then, we all watched The Lawrence Welk Show, while sometimes eating ice cream.  ;)

What are your "pointless memories"?

Would You Like a Lifetime Supply?

Here's another giveaway from Our Best Bites!  You could win 100,000 Box Tops to donate to whichever school you wish, or you could win ...

a year's lifetime supply of Avery see-through sticky notes!

These would be a great tool to use for organizing!  I am really hoping I win, but if I don't, I can't wait to purchase these and give them a try!

Hurry and enter, and make sure to drop back here and let me know if you win!  Good luck!

Update

Well, the job hunt continues for both John and myself.  John is going to a job fair at Costco tomorrow morning.  I am really hoping he will be able to get a position at Costco ... even if it's seasonal.  We need the income!

Wish us luck!

Photo from Career Search Today. 
The photo reminds me of the PS2 game that John and I played last night with Ryan and Rebecca. :-)

Gift Card Giveaway!

If any of you haven't heard by now, my sister and I have a recipe blog.  I love looking up new recipes to try ... especially low-fat versions (since I had my gallbladder removed last summer).  Visit our blog for great recipe ideas!

A few years ago, I found another great recipe blog site -- Our Best Bites.  They have recipes, tips, and sometimes giveaways!  Right now you can enter to win a $100 gift card to one of the stores pictured below.  Hurry, you only have until Friday!

My Goal

I am joining my sister, Rebecca, in her weight loss goal.

The final outcome will be to lose 20 pounds by Christmas ... and to get in shape to run a 5K next summer!
 

I just know it will feel great to be 20 pounds lighter!  I've been trying to eat healthier, too.  Making meals from scratch takes more time, but I want to steer clear of processed foods more often.

For recipe ideas, visit Recipes From Sisters.

What To Blog About?

I am a little blog-stumped right now.  What do you blog about when your life is boring?  :)

Any ideas?