Free Yankee Candle!!!

Here is a great gift - would make a nice little present with a cup of coffee or tea for your child's teacher.

For a limited time, through shop at home, you can get the WILD deal (on the front page) of a yankee candle votive for $1.49 with free shipping and get the $1.49 back as a http://www.shopathome.com/?IAFCG=3+UMz3yoOuuKhqxXSSCplA== rebate. There are only a few scents available, but still a fantastic deal!

I love shop at home. It's a lot like ebates, but the rebates tend to be a bit higher.

Great deal at Chili's!

Here is a great offer at Chili's for joining MyPoints. I love MyPoints - just by clicking on emails each morning I easily earn enough points to get a giftcard or two a year - I typically use it for giftcards to Rainforest Cafe/ T-Rex - expensive meals at a place our kids love to visit when we are in FL.

Check it out! $10 for a $20 Chili's gift card!

Busy weekend ahead!

Well, soccer is starting in full swing this weekend - three games between the two kiddos!

Last year I was dreading soccer - I had memories of the boredom endured at my brother's games. However, with your own kids playing, it's a whole different story!

It's so fun to watch them and I'm excited to see how they do with a season under their belts and a half a year of growth.

The weather is supposed to be perfect too - we may have to fit in a picnic between games Saturday and something fun Sunday evening to kick off the third week of school.

I typically search out a few fun things to do each weekend - we may or may not do them, but at least if there is time and desire I have a game plan. So, I'm off to the web to see what's going on!

Auctions end today!

My ebay auctions end today, some have bids, some don't, so hoping for some last minute action!

Today is a beautiful day out, so I've treated myself to a cup of coffee and some fresh air at Paradise Bakery - oh how I love being able to work from anywhere!

This is my favorite time of year - the humidity drops, but it's still lovely and warm. This week I'll be starting to plan for some of our annual fall fun family outings! Stay tuned for some fun ideas!

Ebay week!

Well, I've listed my monthly ebay items - quite the variety this month, some Gymboree, some Vera Bradley, some Fisher Price Story Reader books, etc. Hopefully I'll do as well as last month!

Clean Eating Deal!

Back to my normal healthy eating . . . (after those Cheryl's cookies!). Tonight, Tanga has a hidden deal on Clean Eating magazine. Right now you can get a one year (8 issues) subscription for only $5.99. Just enter the code EAT when you checkout. This is a great deal on a great magazine. I've gotten a few months of it and really enjoyed it.

Just a warning that prices on Tanga change as more and more people buy, so go there early if you want in on this deal! Also, read the fine print carefully to make sure you are fine with what you are purchasing.

More freebies!

Okay, not totally free and definitely not healthy, but yummy! Go to this link and choose the Try Free cookie deal at Cheryl's cookies. Six of their yummy cookies and you only pay the $6.95 shipping. This would make a great little gift for someone also!

Wow! Free cheese or butter!

This is a deal!!! Take this survey from KerryGold and get a coupon for free cheese or butter.

As an aside, I LOVE KerryGold and in fact it's the only butter I buy. I like that the cows are pastured - most butter is from factory cows. It is expensive, but worth it in my mind.

Go to the link quickly - this won't last!!!!

What did you do for yourself today?

Did you take time to do something for yourself today? If not, I encourage you to do so - even if it's just 15 minutes of reading before bed, or a quick walk after dinner.

Today the humidity was down for the first time in a while, so I grabbed my bike and went for a ride - it was fabulous! I felt so energized and refreshed afterwards!

Enjoy this beautiful day and try to start your week off on a high note!

Daily Deelz

Check out this cool new site - it's a group buying site but works a bit differently than others. You get $5 credit now for signing up, so I'd suggest signing up now while it's launching and keeping your eyes out for great deals - I'll share any I find!

Daily Deelz

Health and Nutrition

So, what did I decide to do? I decided to combine several of my passions and take some courses in Health and Nutrition. Specifically I signed up for the Institute of Integrative Nutrition Course designed to give you certification as a Health Coach. I'm excited because I love to be a student and I love to learn. Even if I only use the information for my friends and families benefits it will be a win in my book. If I decide to branch out and offer Health Coaching to others, all the better.

Instead of just waiting and thinking about doing something new, I'm glad I stepped out an did it! It's a pretty intensive program - about a year long with hundreds of hours of coursework - but very interesting (at least to me) content.

I'm sure I'll come here with plenty of healthy tips and suggestions as I embark on this new adventure! But of course, I'll still be saving money and having fun along the way!!!

Ideas

What were my ideas? I had lots of them:

- working at my church (they need a part time education director)
- personal trainer or yoga instructor
- writing a cookbook, cooking blog
- writing a saving money book/ blog
- wellness or health coach
- personal organizer

I thought hard about all these options and even did a bit of research into most of them. I have a lot of (what I think) are terrific ideas and I can see ways to make some money doing any of this, however I didn't think it would be enough to replace (or even make a dent into) my current job. So, I sat on it for a while (like a year) until this week things seemed to fall into place for me . . . to be continued.

What's stopping you from pursuing your dream?

I often post (and talk) about this topic - life is short, and I truly believe we should make the most of it.

However, it's easier to talk about it than to do it. So, this week, I made a big leap of faith. As I've often mentioned, I have a good job that pays the bills and gives me a lot of flexibility, but I'm not passionate about it.

So, what to do? Just look at it as a job? Or take a risk and try something new? For the past few years I've tried to convince myself to just do the work, love the benefits and focus on the rest of my life. But . . . I wasn't energized, I dreaded working and I was always wishing for that "out."

I decided to look at my passions and see if there was a way to earn a living with them.

First, my passions:

My faith
My family
Saving money
Having fun
Health and nutrition
Reading and learning

Most of the opportunities that encompass these topics I came across didn't pay well - and maybe that isn't the most important thing, but if I'm going to get my family on board, I have to at least make enough money to cover most of my current job. So, I started brainstorming around these passions . . . what did I come up with? Stay tuned and I'll continue this LONG post later this week.