Target Card GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!!

So... I really need a job... and you can help me!!! lol... I've opened a new money-saving website that is keyed to launch at the end of this week... so now I've got 2 incentives to run a contest!!! That's right, I am running a contest!!!! Here is the deal... you love me... you know you do! lol...


The prize is: A $50 GIFT CARD TO TARGET!!!! for one lucky reader!!!


How to Enter:

1.) In order for me to gather the scratch to hand out a $50 gift card to Target, I need to be close to having a good job... hehehe... so... here's the deal... its not that hard to do it, but we can - I need to make it to the top 20 in the Sam-e Good Mood Gig Competition Click here to see my page and vote ... once I hit the top 20, there will be a second tier here as well... if I reach the top 20 (this is all vote based) and then make it past that... I'll host another Target gift card giveaway... this time... in the amount of $100!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOLY COWWW!!!!! Just in time for Christmas too!!! SO... step 1... get me to the top 20... VOTE!!!! Post to your facebook... get your friends to vote... blog about it!!!! Etc....

2.) Once I reach the top 20... which shouldn't be hard if you drive my traffic and votes... hehehe... then I will need to know how to find you... REGISTER to be a member at mamakins.net... the site is probably right up your alley anyhow as its all about money saving, buy/sell/trading and more... IT'S COMPLETELY FREE right now and there will be a post located in the welcome area for you to sign in that you voted!

3.) For additional entries, blog/facebook post/tweet this post and leave the url's in the comment area...

October All You coupon preview

 Are you getting All You Magazine? If you are here are the coupons you can expect in your September Issue that should arrive in your mailbox next week or the week after. They will start to mail this issue on 9/20. Please note this is a sneak preview meaning give your issue a few more days to arrive…

October Coupons

$1/2 Act II Popcorn Balls, (exp 12/6)
.50/1 All You Magazine, (exp 10/30)
$2 off Arm & Hammer HEPA Vacuum Filters, (exp 3/27)
$1 off Arm & Hammer Premium Vacuum Bags, (exp 3/27)
$1/2 Cake Mate Decorating Products, (exp 11/7)
$1 off Carnation Instant Breakfast Essentials Multipack, (exp 1/29)
.50/1 Cottonelle Flushable Moist Wipes (42-ct.), (exp 12/31)
$1 off Cottonelle Toilet Paper 12pk, (exp 12/31)
$1.50 off Dove Cream Oil Body Lotion or Hand Cream (exp 12/13)
.75/1 Fast Fixin’ Bag 20oz+ (exp 3/31)
.75/1 Fast Fixin’ Breakfast Product, (exp 3/31)
$1 off Genesis Today Acai Berry Juice 64oz (exp 12/31)
$1 off Gerber Graduates Cups, (exp 1/31)
$1 off Gerber Graduates Smart Sips 3pk, (exp 2/28)
$2 off Gerber Nuk Orthodontic Bottles 3pk, (exp 1/31)
.50/1 Halls Refresh Hard Candy, (exp 11/7)
$1 off Healthy Choice Fresh Mixers, (exp 2/28)
$2 off Hormel Chili Master Chili, (exp 12/31)
$2 off Hormel Compleats, (exp 12/14)
$1 off Hormel Refrigerated Entrée, (exp 12/1)
$1/4 Hunt’s Snack Pack Pudding 4pk, (exp 12/6)
.75/3 Hunt’s Tomatoes 11 oz, (exp 12/6)
$1/2 Ice Mountain Natural Spring Water 24pk, (exp 12/31)
$2 off Infusion 23, (exp 11/30)
$1/3 Kid Cuisine Meals, (exp 12/6)
$1 off La Choy Creations, (exp 11/30)
$1 off Little Debbie Chocolate Cupcakes, (exp 1/31)
$3 off The Lost and Found Family DVD, (exp 10/19)
$1 off Marie Callender’s Home Style Creations, (exp 2/28)
$1 off Milk Bone Essentials Plus Biscuits or Chewy Treats, (exp 4/25)
$2 off Milk Bone Essentials Plus Long Lasting Chew, (exp 4/25)
$2 off MiraLax, (exp 11/30)
$1 off Nature Made Vitamins, (exp 11/15)
$3 off Neutrogena Cosmetic Product, (exp 11/9)
$1 off N.Y.C. Product Purchase of $3 +, (exp 11/30)
$3 off Old Fashioned Thanksgiving Movie, (exp 11/30)
$1 off People Magazine 35th Anniversary, (exp 10/26)
$2 off Pepcid Product, (exp 1/31)
.50/1 Peter Pan Peanut Butter, (exp 12/6)
B1G1 Pounce Cat Treats, (exp 12/31)
$2 off Pulse Perfection Vibrating Mascara, (exp 10/31)
$2 off Rachael Ray Nutrish Pet Food 6 lb+, (exp 11/30)
FREE Reddi-wip w/ $10 Purchase mail in rebate, (exp 11/8)
$1/4 RO*TEL Diced Tomatoes 10 oz.+, (exp 12/6)
$1 off Smithfield Marinated Pork Product, (exp 11/14)
.55/1 Splenda No Calorie Sweetener, (exp 12/30)
$1 off Sun Crystals All Natural Sweetner, (exp 12/
B1G1 Vanity Fair Plates or Bowls, (exp 12/31)

Erin and I got ours here: ALL You magazine subscription

The current "deals" out are $19 or $15 for a year's subscription...

This one has it 2 years for $20! Great price!!

USE THE CODE: 224GNSX
Go to the SEARCH MENU
drop down tab, choose By item name (or something like that)
Type in All You

Pardon me

Pardon Me

      The great flood of 2008 had left our house in saddening disrepair. I call it the great flood... though only my house was affected. It's really an experience to work yourself up to taking a nice bath when you are eight months pregnant only to step ankle deep in a pile of water in your hallway. I guess that our house is pretty old... and plumbing does not last forever. But... when your house floods like this you just know deep down that this is just the beginning of something much larger and more heinous to come.
      I'll fast forward through the details of the upcoming months. During the third trimester of my pregnancy my front yard resembled an excavation site from the plumbing work. Our house flooded two more times. After the thousands of dollars that went into salvaging the carpeting and drying out walls it was decided that a complete re-pipe of the house be done. Every wall where there was plumbing was cut open and gutted. Once the plumbing was all replaced, we were sure that our problems were over. The next thing to complete was closing up all of the holes.
      Then I had my baby. I was horrified to think of bringing her home in the midst of all of this destruction, but really... what choice did I have? So we brought her home and kept her in our bedroom. The day that I was calling the drywallers to come in and patch up all of the holes our air conditioning died. It didn't putter about with its death either signaling its end with sputters or surges of warmth. It just dropped dead; subsequently the first day it reached over 90 degrees outside. So as the kids and I lay sweltering in the oven of my home, I made a decision to fix the air conditioner first.
      Of course... it wasn't an easy fix. There were no blown fuses or a simple lack of coolant... no. The entire unit was fried. Bye bye to thousands of more dollars. And... a hold to the patching for now. After a week of stifling heat and more strangers lurking about my house with my newborn... breastfeeding might I add... the unit was replaced. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I have a slight anal tendency toward a very clean home. I am not environmentally friendly when it comes to murdering germs and use bleach with open windows. Call me crazy, but I love the smell of an aired out home after being completely bleached down. It's so crisp and most importantly... clean. I went through a stint of using all natural cleaners during Rowan's first two years of life because I felt guilty of... well... everything... but without bleach or antibacterial stuff... I felt like it was never clean enough. So... I made the switch back.
      I say the above to show the reason I was completely freaked out and disturbed when we noticed the new "tenants" that had taken up residence in our home. It started with one, but don't most of these accounts? I had ventured into the kitchen to take my nightly pill and when I flipped on the light he was standing there on the counter. This was, by far, the largest roach I had ever seen in my entire life. I sucked in a lung full of air and squeaked my husband's name. The roach lifted its head and turned it to look at me. He looked AT me. This was not your average house roach. This roach had a head that moved independent of its body. It was at this moment that I knew that we were going to have a problem.
      I HATE roaches. I hate them more than spiders or any other creepy crawly insect you can dream up. Roaches aren't just gross or slimy looking, but they are a direct insult to my ability to maintain a clean home. I come from Texas, where the roaches only enter your house if you leave food out and don't clean it up for weeks on end. What was this beast doing on my newly bleached counter? What was he doing in my kitchen where every single piece of food item was sealed? How dare he? My husband reassured me that this was not a house roach. He said that in Florida there are palmetto bugs and wood roaches that live outdoors. So... I thought... this was an illegal alien in my home.
      I did what any good American would do. I called border control. The drywallers showed up at my house the following day. They patched all of my hundreds of holes for a hefty $50 a hole. They capped us at $450... I could tell that he felt especially bad for us. The next day I breathed easier. This was, of course, until I went into my kitchen. I flipped on the light and they were everywhere. There were four playing poker on my countertop, one taking a bath in the sink, another trying to find entrance into the fridge and several more taking their children to the park I call my crock pot.
      The most disturbing thing of all is that they did not scatter. They all turned their heads and looked at me. It was at this moment that I realized that they were intelligent. My husband hates to kill a living creature and has been known to carry spiders and a myriad of other bugs outdoors to set them free in their natural habitats. It was no different with roaches. He came into the kitchen and systematically trapped each roach under a disposable plastic cup and took care not to harm them. With surgeon-like precision he lifted and removed every single roach from our kitchen and took them outside and far from the house before setting them free.
      Rowan was delighted beyond belief with his newfound friends. Each time papa would take one of the roach filled cups outside he'd stand at the door and yell "Bye bye roach, see you soon!" It was like he knew that they would be back. We figured that after a couple of weeks, we would have trapped most of them and taken them outside. With the walls patched up, they should have a hard time getting back into the house and we'd be done. I wasn't keen on the idea of hiring an exterminator because my daughter was only two months old and a very tiny two months at that. So we waited out the weeks and did the nightly roach extractions.
      Each time I encountered a beady eyed bastard I grew increasingly angry. One day I left a pot of water in the sink... I was trying to loosen up some burned on dinner... long story... but at any rate, one of those menacing freaks came out to see what I was doing. I swept him into the pot. And let him drown. I am not going to lie... I felt pretty crappy after doing that. I mean... he had a right to live, just not in my house. I needed to make an example... I could swear I saw a piece of mirror under the stove with four tiny roach heads peering up at me.
      I broke down the next day and called an exterminator. I was adamant about them using products that were not harmful to small children. We left the house and my husband took off of work while they did their roach killing magic. He said that we would probably see more roaches than normal as they stagger out to die. The first couple of days, I saw nothing. Which was a delight in itself. The third day... the roaches held a funeral. By the fourth day, the mourners of said funeral were laying on their backs in various places... all dying. We put them out of their miseries. After about a week or so... I was overjoyed at the site of no roaches. It was nice to go into the kitchen and flip on the light without expecting to see one. It was short lived, though.
      There is a reason that roaches are one of the oldest creatures on the planet. They have an uncanny ability to survive. Even to this day, I will see one or two of the mammoth creatures strolling about. I've called the exterminator a couple more times, but its always the same thing. Clear for a few days after... and then out pops a new one. I don't know where they are coming from or what they want from me. Since its only one every now and again... we've regained our humanity and are escorting them out of the house.

It's been way too long since I've written anything on this blog.. and humorous at best to go back and read the things that have occurred to me over the past year. Mostly, it's nice to know I've been so busy "having a life" that I haven't been on here to update in so long. However, things are starting to calm down a bit. My daughter is three months old now and she's starting to somewhat sleep through the night and my friendships are getting stronger and more fruitful... things are happy here.

There are a lot of things that have been cooking in our entrepreneurial minds lately; a lot of different and exciting ideas for my family. I've taken up digital scrapping and you can look at my stuff on my other blog (click the pic):

I've also renewed my interest in sewing... which I am planning on opening a new blog about... that's in the makings... Also, my husband has struck a stroke of pure genius and came up with an incredible idea that will be web based that we hope to get rolling into action very soon. We have our first business meeting tomorrow evening... I'll blog about how that all goes. Who knows... maybe we'll strike gold!!! I certainly hope so... it would be nice to have that kind of security in these times. At any rate, now I'm going to go figure out how to make a new blog!!!! Wish me luck! Sewing luck!!!

My friend, the vampire.

Today I am fourteen weeks pregnant. I have endured fourteen weeks of nausea, vomiting, heartburn, round ligament pain, frustration, hormonal freak outs, unrelenting fear of weight gain, un-supportive friends, sometimes supportive husband, crazy ass psycho family members and I do not possess the kind of patience that my anti-depressant blesses me with normally to cope with any of it. Why? Because I'm pregnant, didn't you just read what I wrote?! OK... climbing down off the hormonal highway...

I knew that in order for you to understand why I seem to be on a rampage to purge people from my life who are not enriching it, but just sucking energy from it, you'd need to get a full picture of my mindset. From my earliest post, you can see that I've cut one dead weight off my ankle, but the secret is... I've got more. As I get older, the more I learn that I'm really not as good at choosing friends as I thought I was. I really figured out how to choose a good man and now have the most wonderful husband a girl could dream of asking for. But as I stare at my friend pool and reflect on my past "best friends" the more I realize that I was the only best friend in the relationship all along.

Have you ever found yourself in a relationship where your compromises and your level of understanding and availability has to be leaps above the other person's in order to maintain the friendship? It's exhausting, isn't it? There is nothing like the physical demands of pregnancy to force you to stand up for yourself and cut out those that are draining you of your energy and happiness.

My friends have all been vampires. They don't feed off of blood like the traditional blood-sucking, bat-like, garlic-hating vamps - and its a shame that they don't because that would be so much cooler than what they are. Instead, they feed off of my emotions, my happiness, my intelligence, my talents, my attentions... they feed off of my essence. It gets to where I'm so tired and I don't even know why. I'm sad and on anti-depressants because I have friends who clear me of any joy by loading me down with their burdens.

Here's the hard part - its really hard to distinguish between a good friend and a vampire because they are very deceitful. In my most recent bout with one, years have gone by and I've spent a greater portion of it explaining to everyone that she is just cooky and strange, but that she'd always be there for me no matter what. Come to find out that this just isn't the truth. Not in the least. It's almost like clockwork how she completely left me at this very point in my pregnancy because I am not sitting there with my jaw slack listening to her rewind through her life and scrutinize every painstakingly boring detail as if it were some great art piece at the Louve. And then rewind and do it yet again. And yes... one more time. So, you can see how this can get exhaustive!

I actually have better things to do. Can you imagine that?! I have a real life and I have real issues that I don't need to make up. A year ago she had this issue with one of her students: we are both teachers... at any rate, it was completely inappropriate and I really should have walked away from the friendship at that point. I don't want to be associated with that kind of person. It's sick. And the only reason I let myself be her friend in the beginning is because I thought that she might be able to help me get a job at the school where she teaches. Now that I've been through two years of school with her and can hear what people are saying, I realize that if I get hired by a school, it should be of my own merit and not tied to anyone... especially someone who is seen as unstable by the faculty and administration. She wonders why she isn't given extra duty or why extended day was removed from her... sure some of it was others, but I'm almost positive it's because of her irrational behavior at the end of last year. The last thing that they want to do to someone who sits around crying about everything is give them duties and responsibilities. Ugh...

In the end, I'm sure that she will contact me again and for the only reason that she is my only friend I'll end up talking to her. But I just know that as soon as I can find myself some other friends... I'm sooo done.

We don't hire preggos here

It feels like a bad discrimination movie. A ton of shrivelled up old hags staring at you as if because you are a mother, you are unfit to enter into the workforce. After all, your children are small enough to cyphon off your useful brainpower and if you've got more than one child... jesus... is there any brain left? I half-heartedly click through oodles of wanted ads with a sense of helplessness, after all, no one is going to hire me anyhow. I'm pregnant.

At this point I have a couple of options at my disposal. I could play stupid. I could be completely honest. I could be partially honest. I've already tried being completely honest. For a while I had a nice situation lined up for me. It's amazing how easily other mother's will betray their own kind. Here is a mother trying to go back to work, but in having a very small child is in need of childcare. I offer affordable, extremely intellectual, loving and clean childcare. She goes with me, signs paperwork, puts down a deposit even and then because a daycare center suddenly opens a spot, she chooses to go with them because working with me is too much of a hassle.

I've made things very simple. I mean, I do afterall have to plan for my son as well. I don't know about them, but I do know that I am worth working with a little. The overall payoff for her child's well being, education and healthiness would have been so much greater than the couple of weeks in which I'd have had some people in my home to help with the children. Wow. That's really hard.

I'm now faced with an option. I have another interested party and my question is... should I say something about my pregnancy or should I say nothing at all? When would be an ok time to mention that I'm pregnant? I don't want to be dishonest, because I wouldn't want someone else being dishonest with me, but I know that I might have a month or two where I can still pretty much hide it. What are your thoughts?

Sticks and Stones

I've been called many names throughout my life as I am positive everyone has. And sure... its hurt. I've spent many hours crying over names that people have called me or things that people have said about me that simply aren't true. Not to say that I'm especially a target for name calling and the like, as I think that sometimes when people say the same things about you over and over, there must be truth to it.

No. What happens is that I go name free for a couple of years or so and then I do something to stand out in the crowd. I excel even though I'm young. I work hard at what I do and I do it well. I don't think that a lot of people like that. I don't know why. I just want to do well and please my boss... but apparently this is shit. I shouldn't strive and try hard... I should just piddle around and wait for someone to promote me for doing nothing.

So... I'm a little cynical. Whatever. I'm just not taking positions anymore that require leadership. I had a position as a director of a childcare center and even though the directing part was impeccable, I was still the refuse bin for shit that people wanted to complain about and the target to pin all blame on if something didn't go the way the parents or administration had envisioned. Things change. People are sporadic and unpredictable, but unfortunately this seems to be a running theme among people living in America... the idea that you can control things and that if things don't work out the way that you want them to that you have the right to needlessly try to destroy someone's career.