Free book!!

Is it really only 7:26 PM? I thought it must be at least 10; for some reason I'm exhausted, but still feeling guilty about going to bed this early. Had the state CC meet today in Montreat, about a 2.5 hour drive one way. It was a beautiful day, but I must say, I'm glad the season is over. This was Abby's last HS race. She said it was bittersweet, but more sweet than bitter:).

You know those little google ads that pepper my blog and many others you see? When I began to blog every day, I decided I might as well let google do its thing. I entered all my info but then pretty much forgot about it. Come to find out, you really do get paid when people click on them! There was a $102 deposit in my bank account yesterday. (Apparently they only pay you when you get to $100.) Let's see, I started on January 26, so that's about $11 a month. If I didn't give out gift cards and prizes, I might make something! Anywho, it was a nice little surprise!! Thanks for visiting and clicking around my blog, frugal friends!!

With the economy/elections being all the talk right now, I've been hearing much about "social justice." I was digging around the WORLD magazine site when I found a link for a free book and DVD here:
http://www.seeksocialjustice.com/. It's put out by the Heritage Foundation and when I saw Chuck Colson and Star Parker (among others) were both involved, I knew I wanted it. When I went to order it, I found that they have quite a few other free items also, but you do have to pay shipping. I paid $12 for 6 items--not bad. I know this doesn't flip everyone's switch, but I like to read about the economy and social issues. You can watch a one minute video about the book/DVD here:
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid59512071001?bctid=55335150001

Happy Friday!

A thankful kind of day...

Today was errand day. Video return, book return, stamp purchase/letters mailed, hair cut, car inspected, car tags renewed, bank deposit, friend visit....hmmm, anything else? Kept me busy all day. I was very thankful the old '91 Honda Civic passed inspection again. Love that car!! I felt very blessed all day today as I was putzing around town. Thankful for so much in my life: family, friends, job, home, car, pets, clothing, food, money to pay the bills, my church, my Savior...and the list goes on and on. Sure, we all have "stuff" in our lives that we can complain about, but really? Aren't we blessed??? Be grateful today!!

Here are a couple of freebies to be thankful for:

Get a free sample of Tom's of Maine Wicked Fresh toothpaste here:
Apparently you have to cut and paste this link into your browser to get this freebie...
http://www.startsampling.com/sm/toms101470


Enzymedica is offering a FREE sample of the Digest Basic Health supplement. This looks like it is a 14-day sample supply! When you fill-out the form, use the promo code: taste to request your FREE sample:
http://www.enzymedica.com/DigestChallenge/digestchallenge.html

If you are new to my site, please remember to check out http://www.southernsavers.com/ on a regular basis. I don't get any kind of kick back or anything, but I honestly think that Jenny has the best money-saving site out there. She does a bang up job of telling you which coupons are available, where to get them, and where the sales are.

Have a great evening!

Seven new Freebies for you to enjoy!

Yesterday was a good shop day. If you don't already know, every Monday Carolina Thrift offers half off all clothing and accessories, including shoes and purses. Abby was looking for stuff to make a Peter Pan costume, so off we went. I found two pair of like-new leather shoes (Florsheim and Bostonian--sold on their respective web sites for about $100 a pair) for the boys for $3.50 each and picked up a new leather purse for the same price. The kids picked out a few T-shirts for 99 cents and several books for 2 bucks. (Normally I would wait for these to be half off, but I was in a genereous mood:). Also found some new mens' dress socks for 50 cents. Overall, I spent 20 bucks and was downright happy!!

This morning I've already made 6 quarts of applesauce with my free Maine apples, scoped out the garden greens for tonight's dinner salad, and continue to work on Abby's college/scholarship apps. I consider it time well spent. The more scholarships the kids gets, the less I have to work to pay for her schooling. We've told our kids that we will not take out loans for college and that we will buy them a (used) car for graduation if they get a full ride. Way cheaper than 4 years of college!!

Here are a few new freebies for you:
A coupon for free bag of chips at (facebook freebie, "like" it, then click on the coupon tab): http://www.facebook.com/FoodShouldTasteGood?v=app_163836236969327

Free sample of Jergens lotion here (you have to sign up to be a member of total beauty): http://www.totalbeauty.com/samples_contests

Free 2011 Calender from Oriental Trading Company:
http://www.orientaltrading.com/ui/shared/sharedFlowController.goToHelpController.do?requestURI=link.staticContent&documentKey=calendar_request

Free Unity 2011 Calender here: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjZUPgNT7oLvpG0-4YxMF51ObqcR8T112F-KMwUEA28lxh4FvEAbNVmHijN0dYkrTxe6tnEmB8mgxoAQGzCZ-c6Clpo69AN8rro9lfVA1iVVDARZNAuK1hQ5-i303mjS94VI8bAGUCpx6/s1600/free+unity+2011+calendar.JPG

Free sample of Poise pads from Sam's Club, no member # required:
http://www5.samsclub.com/OMP/02_KCK_10794_PoiseSample.aspx

Free sample of Snuggle liquid fabric softener:
http://www.lifescript.com/Advantage/SNGMULTIZ/index.aspx?utm_campaign=snugglev2&utm_source=logical&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=LOGICAL/CD6738-728x90-002S-2010-08-26&pid2=logicalsng

Free sample of Axe Phoenix deoderant (must be Sam's Club member):
http://www5.samsclub.com/Showcase/UnileverSampleCenter-AXEOctober.aspx

Sometimes I think it would be nice if life would go on hold for awhile while we grieve the loss of loved ones, but then I realize that the world would always be on hold for someone. Remembering my mom again today and all the lessons she taught me...

College Stuff

What a beauty of a day here in NC. So thankful for the cooler fall days. I love this time of year for many reasons, not the least of which is not having to use the AC OR the heat!! I spent much of yesterday helping Abby with college and scholarship applications, reading over her essays and trying to figure out just where to apply. One acceptance so far: Covenant College in Georgia. 6 more apps sent, 4 to go. It will be exciting to see how God leads her in the process.  For those of you in process, here are the sites I recommend for scholarship searches: http://www.cappex.com/ and http://www.fastweb.com/.

On Cappex, you can plug in all your stats (grades, activites, interests, etc) and it will give you the likelihood of getting accepted at any given college. Abby has fairly high SAT/ACT scores, so she thought she'd play around a bit on the site. She changed the numbers to perfect scores on those two tests to see if her likelihood of getting into the Ivy Leagues would increase at all. Less than 5% change. (She's really not looking to go to an Ivy League, she's just curious). Then she left the grades alone and changed her ethnicity to Asian. No change.  Then she left the grades but changed her ethnicity to African American. HUGE change.  Her chances of acceptance increased dramatically. Wow. Any comments? Is this reverse racism, affirmative action or justice being served? Can't wrap my head around it. (And just FYI, she did change everything back to the correct answers...she's really not cheating to get in anywhere:)

Overall, I would say the process has been smooth, with only a few bumps along the way. Since she really has no idea where she wants to go, we are praying a lot and looking at where God brings in the resources. He always provides. Mike and I both took some time off after HS and worked. So many options. Anyone out there who has gone before us with some words of wisdom?

Conference Champs!!!!! (and some good deals...)

Have to brag on das kiddos for a few minutes. All four kids run cross country, and we had our conference meet tonight. Last year our boys won the 2A conference (big fish in a little pond) but this was the first year that we were running in the 3A conference (little fish in a big pond)....and we kicked it in! Our boys were conference champs and the girls came in 3rd overall. So proud of all our runners, my four who ran so hard all season, and my Will, who came in 8th overall (17:46) and made All-Conference! WOOOOOOOT!!

Here are a few deals for you: http://photo.walgreens.com/walgreens/store
Click here and use code 8X10TREAT and get an 8X10 photo collage for free at Walgreens (if you pick up in store). This is good thru 10/22. You can put up to 20 photos on one of these, so this is a really great price. Also, you can use code ALLPHOTO and take $10 off any $20 order, good thru 10/23.

Know a Veteran or active duty soldier? Keep this is mind: This November 11, Veterans EAT FREE at Applebee’s. Last Veterans Day, Applebee’s served over a million free meals to Veterans and Active Duty Military. This November 11, they EAT FREE once again at Applebee’s. Spread the word and invite a Veteran.



Also, Kids get a free Scary Face Pancake at IHOP on Friday Oct 29th. Limit one free pancake per child 12 and under.

And this one's for mom (I miss you):

A Maine Harvest

I've been looking over the "freebie" blogs for the last few days, and apparently I didn't miss much in my week off. I did have a nice little stash in my mailbox when I came home: Wisk sample, coupons for free Cottonelle wipes and Advil, Hearos earplugs, Johnsonville sausage bites samples (6 packs!!), some kind of granola bar (long gone...a kid scarfed it) and a Garnier moisture rescue sample. Wow. Then again, I had mounds of laundry, no food and a stack of bills, but at least there was the positive freebie stuff:). Oh---and BIG ONE---we got word that we won the Chrysler contest!!! So many thanks to those who voted for us!!

Even though my trip to Maine was for difficult reasons, God allowed me to be there during peak leaf season...and fall harvest!  My brother Doug generously showed me where there was a good 15 pounds or so of Oyster mushrooms growing on a Sugar Maple right on my property. Sauteed in a little butter, these were by far the best mushrooms I've ever eaten! Thanks, Bro. (These babies sell for up to $15 a pound in specialty shops!)

Also picked about 35 pounds of apples. I don't know what type they are, but they are very crisp and tart and I have already made a good batch of applesauce. They were surprisingly non-wormy and yummy this year. The Yellow Transparents, on the other hand, were just nasty.

On to brother Jerry's garden, where I snagged just 2 of his many punkins, which are currently decorating my front step. When the time comes, I will roast the seeds and make some puree for pumpkin muffins.

And my Maine neighbor Belinda handed me a Butternut squash, which I gladly accepted. I baked it with a touch of butter and brown sugar and the kids just loved it; I was pleasantly surprised.

There is something very satisfying about preserving and preparing food from our good, green earth.  So much better than the double coupon for applesauce at Harris Teeter. Once again, God blessed me abundantly even in the midst of sorrow.

And here's one freebie to get you back on track--print a coupon for a free orange and cream frutista freeze at Taco Bell here: http://www.tacobell.com/promo/ocfrutistacoupon

Mom's homegoing

As you are well aware, I have not blogged for 10 days now. I have just returned from a trip to Maine during which time I had the priviledge to be a part of my mom's final homegoing on October 13th. When my sister called me on the night of the 8th, it was what she didn't say that prompted me to get off the phone and buy a plane ticket for the next morning. As most of you know, my mom was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of skin cancer back in May. During the last two weeks of her life, she deteriorated extremely quickly, which, in retrospect, was a very good thing. When I arrived on the 9th, she was very weak, but still knew me and told me in a whisper that "my prayer's are answered" when she saw me. (Mine too, mama.) As a nurse, I have watched many people die; but it is so very different when it is your own mother. I consider it the greatest of honors to have spent her final days curled up in a recliner beside her, holding her ever-weakening hand and sharing so many stories with her and my family, even as she lapsed into unconsciousness. 

The viewing, funeral, commital and gathering at our home following the burial all had one common theme: how much she loved people and took the time to live that love. She gave us all an incredible legacy. During these quiet (computerless) hours, I had time to reflect on many things and have decided some changes are in order. In honor of Mom's legacy, I realize now more than ever that it truly is people that matter. All the hugs and tears and silent moments mean more than all the gold in the world. We all KNOW this, but sometimes life has a way of pushing in and making us forget. In light of this, I have decided that I will not sweat the days when it's just too busy and I don't have time to blog. I will try my best to finish out the "year of blogging," but when people need to come first, they will, and I will not feel guilty. It has seemed to me over this past year--and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong-- that it is blogs that come from the heart that mean the most to people anyway. So here's to Mom...may we all live her legacy of loving others.  

(Mom loved her letters, both sending and receiving, so we honored that by turning her mailbox into a funeral spray. Didn't the florist do a lovely job??)