Cards Direct Texas Size Holiday Card For The Troops

CardsDirect is sponsoring a special holiday event and needs our help. Please join CardsDirect in saluting our holiday heroes this holiday season by  signing a Texas sized Christmas card that will be delivered to our troops this holiday season.

The men and woman who serve our country will appreciate it. In less then 5 minutes you can add a message and make the holiday season a little brighter for our troops. 

Salute Our Nations Troops

By  clicking the link below and 

Signing

A Texas Sized Holiday Card For The Troops

CLOSED: $50 Cards Direct Giveaway

$50  Cards Direct Giveaway

I don't know about you but I love cards. I love Christmas Cards, I love Holiday Cards, I love Photo Cards. I especially love Photo Cards when they have pictures of my grand children on them.

I love sending cards and I love receiving them. Don't you?

The great folks over at Cards Direct have offered one of my readers a $50 code to be used to purchase some of their wonderful cards. Now I know its the end of November already and some of you may have already bought and written out your Holiday Cards. But if your like me and you put off buying and writing out your Christmas cards till the last minute now you have a chance to get them for free.

And even if you have already picked out your Holiday cards for this year Cards Direct has a huge selection of Birthday Invitations, Baby Shower Invitations, Birth Announcements.

I have been looking through the cards they offer and I have found a few that I would like myself. Since I live in Florida the  tropical Christmas cards really caught my eye.

If your not looking for holiday cards at all then you can order any of the other cards they offer. 

Or you can upload a piece of your own art work or your blog logo and have it put on a Custom Card.  I am sure my winner will have no problem at all finding something to spend their $50 on.

About Cards Direct

CardsDirect offers the very best in personalized greeting cards for business or personal use.  Over 2,000 card designs are available in categories that include holiday cards, birthday cards, thank you cards, photo cards, baby shower invitations, birth announcements and many more!  With free personalization and custom imprinted verse, CardsDirect offers an easy online ordering process and top quality cards with the best selection, customer service and pricing found anywhere.

Giveaway Prize

Open to US only 

One lucky winner will receive a $50 code to redeem for twenty-five cards up to a $50 value at Cards Direct.

Giveaway ends Sunday December 5th, 2010 at 11:59 pm est

Mandatory Entry

Visit Cards Direct, check out their large selection of cards and leave me a comment telling me if you win what will you be using your prize to purchase....... holiday cards or something else.

Do you want more chances to win?

Leave a comment for each of the following if you choose to do them.

1)Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect for 1 more entry

2) Sign up for email updates from Times Are Tuff and confirm your subscription, earn 2 extra entries. Subscription form on the right side bar ------>>>

3) Follow me on twitter @Timesrrtuff earns 1 extra entry

tweet a link to my giveaway will earn you 2 more entries. You must leave a link to your tweet in your comment.

 

4) Like Times Are Tuff on Facebook for 1 extra entry. Say hello for a bonus entry

5) Blog about this giveaway with a link back to my blog earns you 5 extra entries.

 Good Luck!

Disclosure: I was provided with two $50 codes by Cards Direct for writing this blog post. One is for one of my readers and the other is for me.

Winner CSN Giveaway

Thank you Tammigirl and Rebecca for letting me know how to find my 600th hundred comment on the CSN giveaway. I don't know if it was the stress of the holiday or what but it never crossed my mind to log out of blogger to go see the comments.

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday! My Thanksgiving dinner turned out great. Afterward my oldest daughter and I went out shopping. This was the first time I ever attempted shopping on Black Friday. I am not sure if I would attempt it again. I went out in hopes of buying a laptop at a really great price I should have known better. 

Unfortunately they only had 24 and I was number 26 six in line. Mr number 25 who was standing in front of me almost started a riot by slinging some really ugly remarks to the two woman in front of him who ended up getting the last two laptops. I quickly beat it out of there because I really didn't real like getting stuck in the middle of a fist fight. Come on people it is the holiday season!

The winner of my CSN giveaway has been notified and I am awaiting her email response.

Congrats Vicki!

CSN Winner and Technical Difficulties

The winner for my CSN giveaway has been picked. Commenter #600 has been draw using Random.org

I am having technical difficulties seeing who left comment number 600. Up until now I had no idea that I would have any problems with the number of comments left on one of my giveaways. As it stands at the moment I can only view the first 200 comments left on any of my blog posts. 

Monday I spent 8 hours trying to figure out how I can fix this. Monday night I spent 7 hours in the ER with my daughter. I dragged myself home at 6 am this morning. 

With Thanksgiving two days away I have so much to do as I am cooking dinner for the family.

Over the weekend I will try again to fix this problem and notify the winner. 

If anyone reading this knows how to fix this problem or how I can use a non BLOGGER commenting addon so my comments are numbered and I can actually see them all I would appreciate it if you could share the secret. I have tried installing CommentLUV and Intense Debate but can not get either of those programs to funtion on my blog. I am sure it has something to do with blogger templates but at this moment I am sleep deprived and at a loss as how I can fix this.

I hope you all have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

I will be back over the weekend.

Winner Pillsbury Love The Pie Giveaway

Congrats Annette

Sneak Peek Kmart Black Friday Ad

Here is a Sneak PEEK AT Kmarts Black Friday ad

They have the Android Tablet for only $139.99 what a great deal!

Kmart Black Friday Ad Circular

Wanchai Ferry Winner

Congrats to Amy 

Sneak Peek Walmart Black Friday Ad

I just got a sneak peek at the Walmart Black Friday ad. They have some goodies if your up for standing in line all night.

Here is the link to check it out

Walmart Black Friday Ad

Oregon Chai Twitter Party November 16th 2010

Do you like chai tea? Oh my I love it. I have tried many different brands of chai tea. I have also made if from scratch. There is not a brand out there that holds a candle to Oregon Chai Tea as far as I am concerned.

I just noticed on the website that The Original™ Chai Tea Latte Mix now comes in a 10 oz canister. Just thinking about it makes me want to run right out to Target and get a canister. 

Guess what here is the link to a $1 off coupon!

Now you know I printed mine right out!

Want to keep up to date on all things Oregon Chai?

Check out the Oregon Chai Facebook page 

or follow them @oregonchai on twitter

 I wanted to let all of you Oregon Chai Tea lovers out there know about an upcoming Oregon Chai  Twitter party. See the details below and write them down in your day planner so you don't forget. See ya there!

Oregon Chai is having its last Twitter party of the year on Tuesday, November 16, from 7 to 8 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Host and wellness expert Peggy Hall will be there to share her tips for staying calm and collected this holiday season as well as how to share the gift of Me Time with your loved ones. 

You’ll also be able to bring your own questions for her to answer. 

Did we mention prizes? We’ll be giving away a plethora of chai and other gifts. One lucky participant will even win a $100 grand prize! Follow @OregonChai and @PeggyHall to join in on the fun. The party hash tag to win is #OregonChai. We hope to see you there!

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Oregon Chai.. All opinions expressed are my own!

Holiday Spending: A Handmade Holiday?

Like the name of my blog says times are tough. They are tough all over the country. The area that I live in has been on the news for the past three years as the highest in unemployment and the highest in foreclosures.

I mentioned to my family that maybe this year we should exchange handmade gifts. It didn't go over too well as you can imagine. Mind you all three of my children, two daughters and a son are very crafty. 

( One of my daughters is married and has two children of her own. My son also is out of the house with a girl friend and a 16 month old daughter.)

But they have been spoiled by better times and parents who wanted to give them what we didn't have when we were growing up. Even as adults my two oldest children think Christmas is still all about them. 

My youngest child who is 13 has had the hardest time of all my children as far as this economy goes. When I think back and remember the times ( when money wasn't a problem)  that I joked with my husband about how the youngest would be expecting a brand new car when she turned sixteen I cringe and think to myself just how different just a few years can make.

Any way........In the past I have made handmade items and given them to family and close friends. Then it wasn't a matter of money like it is now. Then I made things like cocoa mix, jam, cookies and candies because I wanted to and many people do not have the luxury of having a crafty person in their family. And they appreciated a homemade food item.

I have also made bath salts and soaps, sachet pillows and hand painted items. So I am very capable of creating beautiful handmade gifts. But the idea just didn't fly. 

Well the kids and grand children will get store bought gifts but not as many as they would have in years past. I am sure there are millions of other people in the same predicament.

What do you plan on doing this year? Would you ever consider exchanging homemade/handmade gifts?

Ten Tips for New Moms who are Bringing a Baby Home

Ten tips for new moms who are bringing a baby home

Now that your pregnancy is over. You survived labor and delivery. Yes there was a minute or two that you didn't think you'd make it but you did. 

Congradulations!

  Now you have that sweet little bundle of joy to bring home. 

Sorry to tell ya this while that warm fuzzy glow of new motherhood is still flushing your face but that was the easy part. Yep pregnancy, labor and delivery was the easy part. Sure was!

I would like to share a couple of tips with you. Yes I am qualified to dispense this practical advice. I have three children of my own and three grandchildren. The three children are 25, 20 and 13.

I am the mom, grammy and mother in-law who knows it all. Well not really but I have come to learn a bit in all these years of mothering.

1 Breast is best! If you were thinking about it please try. Your not only feeding your baby what mother nature intended but you are passing along all the immunities your own body has developed to your new baby. This will help your newborn be healthier then if they were bottle fed. If you are nursing and are having problems with the baby latching on call the La Leche League hotline and get the number for a support person in your area.

2 Accept any and all help offered. Unless it is a person who is really annoying to you. Then you should politely decline the help. If a friend or family member asks what they can do to help. Tell them something you need done. Did you leave a pile of laundry on the floor in your mad dash to the hospital? Let them wash and dry it for you before you go home.

3 Keep a supply of hand sanitizer near by. Have everyone use it before they pick up the baby. You don't want anyone passing along any nasties.

4 If your bottle feeding remember that the dishwasher will sanitize anything, bottles, nipples, binkies. Before bed prepare enough bottles for all the night time feeding and have them ready to go in the fridge.

5 If you can avoid taking your newborn out to any public places for the first two weeks. Do it. Most of the illnesses that are going around can and will be picked up in a public area where many people have been.

6 When your new baby seems fussy wrap him or her up tighly in a receiving blanket. For the first few weeks this helps them feel like they are still snuggled up warm inside your womb.

7 Nap when your baby naps. New mothers need lots of rest. Your new baby is getting use to their new surroundings and you are trying to get into the new schedule of new motherhood.

 If your running around crazy trying to get things done while the new little one is napping you are going to get worn out.  

8 Don't try to be super mom! The laundry can wait, the dishes are fine in the sink while you rest. Your babies father is capable of taking on some extra chores while you recover from giving birth. 

9 Drink plenty of water. If your breastfeeding this is even more important. Drinking water will help you get rid of all the extra water your body has been carrying around for the last 9 months. It will also keep you from getting dehydrated. Each time you sit down to feed your baby whether it is the breast or a bottle pour yourself a glass of water and drink it during the feeding time.

10 Enjoy your new baby. This is not the time to stress out about all of lives little frustrations and problems. I know this is a hard tip to swallow that why I left it for last. You baby will only be a newborn for a short time. You need to take this time to get to know each other and to bond. Tell your self you will worry about it later....whatever it might be. Take a week or two. Let someone else handle all the stressing things in your life. You husband, mother, friends and family can help cook, clean and help with other children in your family.

I hope these tips have helped you. Being a new mother is hard but it doesn't have be if you ask for help from your family and friends. This seems simple but I know it can be hard to ask for help sometimes.

Enjoy your new baby!

Disclosure “I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Lysol® Wee Wisdom blogging program, making me eligible to get a $50 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here. 

Take the Rodelle Challenge

Take the Rodelle Challenge, share your passion for baking with us and enter to win a year supply of Rodelle gourmet baking essentials!

Share your memories for a chance to win.

Check out the Rodelle Challenge Facebook Page for all the details.