Books Giveaways

I love reading and our family has always been big on books. Here are three current giveaway for books:

I'm Your Bus- This is a cute picture book about a bus that is in-your-face fun as he goes on his adventures through the town and meets all sorts of fun cars/truck along the way. There are two giveaways for this book, each giveaway has one grand prize (book, and 2 lunchboxes) and three runner-up prizes (the book). You can enter on Mom Fuse or 3 Kids and Us or both!


Book Bouquet- I've never seen gift baskets that are so fun and cute! They combine books with fun treats/toys to make the perfect gift basket for the perfect occasion. I love the Get Well baskets, Kid baskets, Boredom baskets... well, I pretty much love them all! Just be careful because some of them have coffee or tea packets included (if you care about such things). Anyway Playground for Parents is giving away a $50 gift certificate to Book Bouquets.

Baby Signs Pop-up Book- You may not know, but I've been teaching my son sign language and he LOVES it! He loves the videos, but I also want to have some books to teach him as well- since I love books more than anything. 3 Kids and Us is giving away a grand prize of a $50 Babies R Us Gift Card and the Baby Signs Pop-Up book and 4 runner-ups will recieve the book.

Big Bug Lunch! Book- My Mom's View is giving away a cute picture book called Big Bug Lunch! First in a series called the "Klunker Kapers" it's a cute silly book that explores eating bugs:) Go here to enter this fun giveaway to win a Big Bug Lunch! book.

Pioneer Day

Today is Pioneer Day! I know I don't live in Utah anymore, but I have a hard time not wanting to celebrate such a great holiday. Pioneer Day is a Utah holiday that celebrates some of the first pioneers that crossed the plains and mountains to settle in Utah. I believe it's also the day that Brigham Young looked up from his sick-bed upon the Salt Lake Valley and said, "This is the Place!" I have many pioneer ancestors (I'm reading about Robert Taylor Burton right now) and I'm thankful for their sacrifices and strong faith that helped them leave their homes and settle in an unknown land. I hope you all have a Happy Pioneer Day! (It really should be a national- or at least Western States- holiday...)

Sleep Number C4 Queen Bed Set Giveaway! $1,400 value

That's right! I found a great site where they are giving away a Sleep Number bed! Jeff and I have needed a new bed for a while now, but we just can't afford it. We've started to get used to the "taco" mattress effect, but it would be SO nice to have a new Sleep Number bed of our very own! You can adjust the firmness with a handheld remote and the pillowtop has "a 1 1/2 inch layer of comfort material that provides edge-to-edge cushioning"! Just head over to Thrifty Jinxy and sign up to win today, but do it quick since this giveaway end July 27! (Be aware that this is a BlogHer '09 special so if you aren't there you won't have as many chances to win, but you can still enter).

Harry Potter Reading Challenge

So, for those of you who aren't Harry Pottered out here is a fun challenge with prizes to boot! Over on GalleySmith you can find a challenge to read all the Harry Potter book 1-7 within the next year. That's right, you have from August 1, 2009- July 31, 2010 to read all the books. Considering the last time I read them took me a three weeks to get through all seven books I think I can handle all the books in one year. Anyway, you can chat with others about the books and sign up to win monthly? prizes as well. I know the first prizes are a complete boxed set of paperback Harrys and a complete boxed set of hardbound Harrrys. Good luck and happy reading!

Life is not easy

Many times in my life I've found myself thinking too much about me. When this happens I start to get depressed and I often feel lonely or neglected. I start thinking of all MY problems and all MY needs and how they aren't being met. I have a great pity party and get down on others for not noticing my problems or for not helping me in the way I think they should. At times like this I often need a kick in the rear to get me over myself and to have me get my priorities straightened out.

Life is not easy- it's not meant to be. There will be change, there will be trails, there will be tears and growing. We are here to learn how to become like our Heavenly Father which is anything but easy, but oh so worth it! I'm thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who keeps me on the right course and gives me a good kick every now and then if I start thinking too much of myself.

I've found that at hard times- times of fear, loneliness, sadness, doubt etc. that the easiest and quickest way to turn "my frown upside down" is to forget myself and help someone else. When I serve others I am helping someone have an easier day or making their circumstance just that much more bearable and I'm also doing my Heavenly Father's work. As it says in Mosiah 2:17 And behold, I tell you these things that ye may learn wisdom; that ye may learn that when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.

I'll probably have to work on this my entire life, but I hope that each time I learn this lesson that I can do a little better. I can see others and help them instead of worry about myself and I can learn from my own trials how to help others get through those same times. Heavenly Father loves us and if we trust in Him with all our hearts He will direct our paths.

Saving Money and Loving It!!!

So, I just wanted to drop a quick note and say how much I'm in love with the whole saving money thing. I've always considered myself a savvy shopper, but until recently have never really explored all the ways to actually save money. I'm finally cutting coupons and using them and I've also started taking a little more time to find coupon codes or other ways to save before I buy. I'm astounded by my success in just one week of actually trying!

Case 1: The grocery store. I planned ahead, cut coupons, looked at the weekly ads and bought only what was on sale, and did the "buy 10 certain items and save $5" thing. Results: $66 dollars of groceries- saved $29- total $37.

Case 2: Online shopping. I waited until the amazing swimsuit that I wanted went onto clearance. I then only decided to get it during the 4th of July "take an extra 10-30% off" sale was on. I got a friend to split shipping/tax with and I used a $10 off code that I had. I then found another code online and plugged it in for a 5% discount. Finally I joined their club (free) and received an extra little discount (and will receive future coupon codes). Results: $58 top/bottom swimsuit- saved $44- total $14.