Life is what it's Called: February 2014

Home Emergency Escape Plan

Friday, February 28, 2014

The other day, the fire alarm went off in our building. I had forgotten that they were doing tests. Instead of evacuating, I poked my head outside of our balcony to see what was going on and then I went and grabbed my son who was upset by the noise. After grabbing my son, I went out the front door and talked to my neighbor who assured me it was just the fire department testing the alarms.

If it had been a real emergency, I would have been in trouble and should have evacuated immediately with my son.

If you had to suddenly evacuate your home for a fire, flooding or other emergency situation, would you and your family know what to do?

A Home Emergency Escape Plan can help prepare you and your family for an emergency.

To develop a Home Emergency Escape Plan, as a family figure out the best escape route from different parts of your home. Every room needs two exits: a normal exit and an emergency exit. Remember to utilize doors, hallways and windows.

If you choose a window as an emergency exit, make sure you plan for a way to reach the ground safely. You many need to utilize an escape ladder or rope. If a window, doesn’t easily open, keep a hammer or something that can break glass easily in the room to utilize under an emergency situation.

Along with a route to escape, have a set meeting place for your family to gather a safe distance from your home.

Once you have a plan established, practice it on a regular basis so that your family is prepared for an emergency situation. You can even make a game of it, by timing everyone to see who can make it to the meeting spot the fastest.

A Home Emergency Escape Plan can help protect and save the lives of your family, it’s always better to plan and be prepared for trouble rather than being surprised by it.

Giveaways to Enter

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Getting in Shape for a 5K

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

It's been a while since I've ran for exercise...finding the time with a new baby can be difficult. Despite it being a while since I've ran, I signed up to do a 5k that our local Young Women's group (youth group) for our church is hosting. It seemed like a good cause and it was fairly reasonable so I signed up for the race, which is in about a month. I am not so sure that was the smartest of ideas, but I am going to start running three days a week to get in shape.

Last night when I was running, I realized how out of shape I am. My husband and I treked down to the work out center together with our baby. It wasn't so long until the baby started crying and my husband took him home so I could run. My husband is so good to me! I ran for about 10 minutes: my legs felt sore and I felt slow and sluggish. Despite feeling slow and sluggish, I am going to keep at it and gradually increase how long I run each time I workout until I am able to run 30-40 min solidly. Even though it may be hard, you have to keep trying to be better or you'll never accomplish anything.

Driscoll's Berry Community - Earn Savings on Berries

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Driscoll's has a consumer panel for their berries. I have found it's well worth the time to buy their berries and to fully participate in the panel. For, every berry container that you buy and fill out a survey, you can get a coupon.

Here's how the consumer panel works:

1. Go to www.driscollspanel.com. Enter the code on the bottom of your package.
2. Complete the survey online. It can take 5-10 minutes to fill out a survey. (Please note that if you are filling out multiple surveys, you have to wait 5 minutes between each survey.)
3. After completing a survey, a link for a coupon will be sent to your email. (Make sure you include your email in the survey.)

The more surveys you complete, the more savings you get. The survey requirements are for the year.

Panel Member - .50 cents off for the first 4 surveys
Silver Member - .75 cents off for 5-15 surveys
Gold Member - $1.00 off for 16+ survey

I just transitioned from Panel Member to Gold Member. So when I went to HEB, I had a coupon for .50 and .75 off Driscoll's berries. The blackberries were .88 cents so with the coupons, I got one for .13 cents and another for .38 cents. Not too bad!

Grateful Experiment

Monday, February 24, 2014

So, lately I have started a new experiment. In my personal prayers instead of asking God for things or asking for blessings, I have been naming off 10-20 things that I am grateful to have in my life. At first it's really hard to not ask for things or blessings, but I found that as I started naming things off that I felt more at peace and happier throughout the day. I wasn't worrying about the issues or problems in life, but I felt really blessed for the small, simple things in life. I encourage you to do the same and see what kind of difference it makes in your own life.

Dealing with Cradle Cap

Friday, February 21, 2014

My son developed cradle cap when he was a month or two old. The doctor and a friend said that it would go away eventually and that I could use olive oil and a brush if I wanted to. I didn't like the idea of putting olive oil on my son's head. A friend related to me that her son had it and she just used a brush and shampoo to get rid of it. I decided to try it and sure enough gently rubbing shampoo on his head with a brush got rid of most of his cradle cap. It took a week for it to go away and I do suggest doing it very gently. My son's head looks much healthier without the cradle cap!

How I Won a $50 Jcrew Gift Card, a Shabby Apple Dress, a $25 Amazon Gift Card, 3 Shirts from ModBod

Thursday, February 20, 2014

In the past few months, I've won a $50 Jcrew Gift Card, a Shabby Apple Dress, a $25 Amazon Gift

Card, 3 Shirts from ModBod and more recently a punk music CD and a t-shirt from Revolutah. How did I do it?

I scour the internet looking at low entry giveaways posted on blogs. There's one site in particular that's helped, a blog called Tight Wad in Utah, where the author posts low entry giveaways. I've won a few things from her postings.

I also enter giveaways through google searches of items that I think bloggers will host as a giveaway, follow blogs that tend to have low entry giveaways and follow smaller companies with great products on Facebook. ModBod frequently has giveaways on their Facebook page. Once I find a giveaway, I look at how many people have already entered, how many entries you can get, and if there's a high percentage of me winning. It's all about playing the odds. Also, when you enter a giveaway make sure it's something you want or something that you know someone in your family will use.

Here are some low entry giveaways you can enter:

Win 2 Personalized Spoons
Top of Zion Half Relay
Great Inflatable Race
Geronimo Stilton DVD
Ender's Game DVD
$25 Gift Card to Sparrow Boutique
Two Shirts from Revolutah
$25 Food Lion Gift Card Giveaway
Fitness Clothes Giveaway
Mafia Girl Book

You can also follow my twitter account here to see what giveaways I enter.

Tiecoon Ties 50% Off - Ties for under $3!

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Tiecoon is an online resource for ties. My husband has four of them and they look great on him. They hold up really well and come in great looking colors! It has the look and class of a department store tie without the cost. I talked with Tiecoon and they are willing to give my readers 50% off ties when they use the coupon code "tiecoonblog." Please note that the code will expire by February 18, 2014 so use it soon. Their ties are usually around $5.95 so with the code your ties $2.97 each! They also have extra long ties, boys ties and bowties! Check them out here.

Please note that I am not getting compensated for this post. These opinions are expressly my own.

Ties for Valentine's Day: Only $5.95!

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Looking for an inexpensive gift for your husband, fiance or boyfriend? Tiecoon has great looking ties for only $5.95. Here are some great Valentine's Day options:

Striped pink, fuchsia, and white ties

Mens tie with red, solid color,
striped/stripes, design. #1866


Men's Necktie with red, fuchsia, solid color, striped/stripes, design. #J1609

Tiecoon also has bowties for $5.95!

Men's Bowties with pink, fuchsia, solid color,
striped/stripes, design.

My husband now has four ties from Tiecoon! We love the quality and price of their ties. I would also highly recommend signing up for the newsletter (on the bottom of the site). Tiecoon routinely sends out promotions.

Inexpensive and Great Ties

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Are you looking for inexpensive and a great looking tie? Of course, you are. Who wouldn't want a tie that's not going to break your piggy bank? Check out Tiecoon Ties.

Many of their ties are just six dollars! How great is that! I ordered ties from them for my wedding. It was great. I didn't have to spend $20-$50 per each tie. My husband still wears his tie from the wedding. I have also gotten him a nice tie for Easter. They last quite a while.

Tiecoon ties will also make great Christmas, Birthday, Easter, and Valentine's presents.

Check out their website and let me know which is your favorite!

Spring Outfit Ideas

Monday, February 3, 2014

Do you want a great spring outfit without breaking your piggy bank? Do you want to make sure it's a modest spring outfit too? Here are some great ideas for you - all under $50.