about.me sign up

Have you signed up for an about.me  page yet? It's a new site for personal analyetics. Where you can connect all your social media profiles and see how your doing. Plus keep them all in one place for easy access. Watch the video below to see what all the buzz is about!

All about about.me from about.me on Vimeo.




Sign up today and receive a free pack of about.me business cards from MOO. 
Disclaimer: I am a BzzAgent. I may have received some form of compensation for this blog post.

Fun Way to Get Free Stuff

Have you heard of Crowdtap yet?  My daughter and I joined about a year ago and she has been enjoying earning free stuff from Old Navy.  Check out her latest Old Navy Shorts Party.


Not only do you have a chance to score some free stuff but you earn  a few bucks here and there. You have the option of cashing out or making a donation to a charity of your choice. 


What I love about this site is that there is something for everyone!

Four times now my daughter has gone  shopping for Old Navy outfits and accessories for herself and 4 friends at our local Old Navy store. And she just signed up for another campaign this week. I don't have the details on that one yet.
I am pretty jealous but I guess this old social media grandma just isn't in the right age group for this promotion.
This is how it works. You sign up for an account here  at the Crowdtap  site and fill out your profile and answer the surveys. The surveys are called Quick Hits and are short and sweet. A quick hit might take 3 minutes to complete and another cool thing is they show you how the other respondents answered.
Then there are also Actions. Each action may also have a discussion going on. These are a little more work then the quick hits. What happens is there is a question posted and you answer the question. The time involved depends on you and how you want to answer. You are also earning points and badges for each thing you complete.
Each time there is an available Quick Hit or Action on your account you will get an email letting you know. 
Now let me warn you. Don't think you can spot an email from Crowdtap and go back to it later because the really good promotions full up fast. I've missed a few myself.

Not everyone is eligible and of course the offers they send you are based on the promotional company and what and who they are looking for.


There is plenty of things going on for the guys also. I'm not sure what because I am not a guy and don't get to see the offers available.
Check it out.
Disclaimer: I have not been paid for this post but I will earn cash or prizes if you chose to join Crowdtap by following one of the links in this blog post. All opinions expressed are my own!

Tiny Prints for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is right around the corner. Check out the beautiful  Mother's Day cards from Tiny Prints. Your sure to find a perfect card or gift for the most important woman in your life.

They offer Mother’s Day greeting cards for all sorts of moms – mom friends, moms, mothers-in-law… You want to tell her she’s doing a great job as a mom or thank her for being there for you? We have the card for it!

You won't have any trouble finding a special card for that special lady this Mother's Day.

My mother has been gone for many years now and not a Mother's Day goes by that I don't wish that I could spend just one more Mother's Day with her. There have been many times I wished I could call her up and ask her for advice on one thing or another. 

The one thing my mother taught me that has stuck with me all my life is that a woman can do just about anything a man can do. You see my parents divorced when I was very young and my mother raised five of us on her own. If something needed to be fixed in the house she fixed it herself. She taught me that I could do just about anything I needed or wanted to. That lesson has helped me many times in my life and I will be forever grateful to her for that.

Tiny Prints provides simple, modern and unique stationery from Father’s Day Cards to personalized greeting cards to thank you cards, business cards, and even custom wedding invitations or photo birth announcements. Offering exclusive designs from the nation’s top designers, easy card personalization, a powerful preview engine and top-notch customer service and paper quality, their designs have been lauded by numerous television networks, publications and celebrities. With Tiny Prints by your side commemorating every holiday and momentous occasion is a cinch! They offer perfect party invitations for every occasion and memorable personalized photo-gifts like notebooks, photo books and calendars to commemorate the event.

Disclosure: This post is part of a compensated campaign. I will receive payment in the form of a gift code in exchange for posting.

Winner Anouncement:Brilliant Screen Cleaning Wipes New Winner

Unfortunately the first winner of my Brilliant Screen Wipes giveaway never claimed her prize. I have added a new rule to my giveaways and the winner will only have 72 hours to reply to my email. After 72 hours I will pick a new winner.

Winner Announcement: March $25 CSN Giveaway

Congratulations to commenter # 27 heartandsoulcooking she is the winner of my $25 CSN giveaway

I will be emailing the winner directly. Please respond in 72 hours or I will have to pick another winner.

Nutella Party Fun

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Nutella Party Fun

Nutella

Nutella Party Swag

I recently had the opportunity to apply to host a Nutella party through MommyParties and Mom Select.

 I was so excited when I found out that I was one of the lucky applicants to get picked. I tasted Nutella for the first time about six months ago. At that time I had decided to join in on a Nutella recipe challenge on my cooking blog.  I know it was crazy to join the challenge since I have never tasted Nutella before  but I have to tell you the recipe was a great success. The recipe I came up was for Nutella Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies. They turned out awesome.

For this party I also came up with a new recipe. My party was a brunch and I decided to make some muffins and double stuffed Banana Nutella French Toast. The muffins and the French Toast were so yummy. I will be posting the recipes on my cooking blog Flour On My Face this coming week. 

Nutella Brunch

There were a few people at the party today who had never tasted Nutella but were pleasantly surprised with the delicious flavor.

Nutella Party Guest

Nutella Party Guest

Chowing down with Nutella French Toast

Disclaimer: I received a party pack containing Nutella products to help throw my party from MomSelect, Mommy Parties and Nutella. All opinions expressed are my own.

Ready for your Taste Drive?

Get a taste of the latest in fully loaded flavor efficiency. Just grab a bowl and hold onto your spoon, because this breakfast cereal will put you in the fast lane to fruit flavor! Sign up to taste drive a sample at Touch of Fruit.

{Closed} Brilliant Screen Cleaning Wipe Winner

Congrats to 

PridelandMama

she is the winner of the Brilliant Screen Cleaning Wipes!

Have You Heard about Joss & Main?

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Have you heard about Joss & Main? It's an exclusive private sale site that CSN Stores recently launched. It offers exclusive sales on top brands and designers for the home at up to 70% off retail. Sales only last 72 hours, but new ones are launched daily and all are backed by the high levels of customer service and quality that CSN Stores is known for.

{Closed} $25 CSN Giveaway

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Spring is upon us here where I live in Florida. It's like this almost every year. One minute we are freezing and the next we are in the 80's. This is actually my favorite time of year. The weather is beautiful and I'm starting seeds for my little container garden.

The scorching temperature's haven't hit yet. I can sit out 

side and enjoy watching the birds while I read a book on my back porch and not be gasping for a breath from the humidity and heat while  sweating. to death.

It's also the time of year that the kids can play outside and not be in danger of a heat stroke. It doesn't last long so we have to take advantage of it!

This year we are in the market for a swing set for the grandchildren. I love the wooden swing sets at CSN. They have a huge selection and are offering $200 of with the Take200 promo code. So if your also looking for a swing set check CSN out. I'm sure you'll agree that the swing sets they carry are awesome.

If you would like a chance to win a $25 gift code to CSN keep reading!

Giveaway Ends: March 27th 2011 at 11:59 pm est

Please leave an email address with at least one of your comments so I may contact you if you win!

Open to residents of the US & Canada

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment telling me something that you enjoying doing in the Spring.

Do you want more chances to win ??

Leave a comment for each entry.

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, earns 2 extra entries. Subscription form on the right side bar ------>>>

Leave a comment if you already subscribe telling me so.

3) Follow me on twitter @AThriftyBlogger earns 1  entry

4) Tweeting a link to my giveaway will earn you 1 more entry. You must leave a link to 

your tweet in your comment.


You can use the convenient tweet button at the top of this blog post.

5) You may Tweet once a day for an extra entry. Leave a comment with the link to your tweet!

6) Like Times Are Tuff on Facebook for 2 extra entry. Say hello for a bonus entry

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

Good luck!

Disclosure: I have not receive any compensation for this blog post. CSN has furnished the gift code for this giveaway. All expressed opinions are my own.

Recycling Tip: Paper Packaging Material

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By A Thrifty Blogger
author of Times Are Tuff

 

I wanted to share a recycling tip with you all today. You and I probably have a thing or two in common. You probably have one or more small children in your home and you probably receive packages in the mail.

 

You know how almost all packages come with paper packaging material these days instead of Styrofoam peanuts. The paper varies in thickness some is very thick and some is very thin almost like news paper. Well no matter the thickness all of the paper is recyclable. in many ways. One of the ways I recycle this packaging material is to use it to cover my table when I am working on craft projects. It protects my table surface from spilled paint and glue.

 

The second way I recycle this lovely paper is that I cut it down into pieces and let my grand daughters color and draw on it. They love to draw and scribble on the big pieces of paper.

 

Do you recycle packing paper?

Visit the "Recycling Tip: Paper Packaging" Discussion

[CLOSED} Brilliant Screen Cleaning Wipe Review and Giveaway

When the opportunity came to me to review Brilliant Screen Cleaning Wipes I jumped on it. A few months back I reviewed their eye glass cleaner and I was amazed at how well it cleaned our eye glass lenses. I wasn't disappointed with this product either.

Product Description 

Brilliant screen cleaning wipes with SR-8 provides gentle, superior  cleaning to any electronic screen and removes dust, dirt, finger prints and makeup while imparting an invisible, durable barrier that protects screens 50x more form scratching. Helps protect against re-soiling to keep your screen brilliantly clean!

As soon as I had the product in my hands the first thing I did was clean my computer monitor. It did a great job of removing the  sticky little finger prints my granddaughter loves to leave on my screen.

The Brilliant Screen Cleaning Wipe passed my first test with flying colors. Now I wanted to see how this screen cleaner  would do with my daughters Nook. We love the Nook Color but one of the things I noticed right from the first day that we used it was that the screen seems to really pick up smudges. 

Obviously any touch screen is going to get smudge marks with normal use but the Nook really seems to attract and hold the oils from our finger tips. 


I opened up one of the individually packaged wipes and wiped the Nook screen. It took a little elbow grease but the screen hadn't been cleaned since we bought it at Christmas time the month before. 


These screen cleaning wipes also add a layer of 50X Scratch resistance. So it is important to let the screen air dry before you touch it. It may look like the screen is smeared but once it dries it dries smudge free and clear.


I am very happy with this product! I've used it on my cell phone also with the same happy results.


Would you like to win a package of Brilliant Screen Cleaning Wipes?


Giveaway Rules


Ends March 15th, 2011 at 11:59 pm est

Open to residents of USA only

The winner must provide email contact and address to ship excluding a p.o. box.

The Rules 

REQUIRED: You must include your email address in the comment form. I will need it to contact you should you win. If you do not leave an email address with at least one of your entries I will be deleting all of your entries.

MANDATORY entry. 

All other entries will be deleted if you do not do this first.

LIKE Brilliant Lenses on Facebook

Or

Follow Brilliant Lenses on Twitter @BrilliantLenses

Come back here and leave me a comment letting me know which you have done. Leave your twitter name or facebook name in the comment.

If you have done both. Leave me two comments and you will earn an entry for each one.

EXTRA ENTRIES

Would you like more chances to win?

 
1)  Follow my blog and leave me a comment letting me know for one extra entry

 2)  Blog about my giveaway and earn five extra entries. Leave five comments with an email address and the link to your blog post.

 
3) Follow me on Twitter and Tweet my giveaway. Leave a  comment with the link one extra entry. You can do this once a day.

4) Sign up for email updates from Times R Tuff earns you 3 more entries. Leave one comment for each. 

Form on the right sidebar. You must confirm your email subscription for this to count!

5) Like my Times Are Tuff facebook page earns you 2 more entries. Make sure you leave a comment for all four entries. Leave a comment and earn a bonus entry!

Good Luck!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Sponsored by Tomoson.com

I am the Mom It Forward Mom of the Day

Thank you so much Mom It Forward for picking me to be the Mom Of The Day. It is so much fun to meet new friends on twitter and facebook. I can't wait to visit their sites and follow their tweets.

Check out the Mom It Forward Blog

And 

The Mom It Forward Forum if you would like to connect with some great Mom's who love the internet and social media as much as I do!

Thanks again!

Arlene

Cover Girls 50th Anniversary Celebration

Have you checked out the Cover Girl 50th Anniversary Celebration on Facebook. Click here to check it out

Disclosure: This is an uncompensated blog post as part of the Covergirl BZZAGENT Campaign. All opinions are my own!

Purex Winners

Congrats to the winners of my Purex Crystals Softener

Emmy, Tami and RubyMoon I will be emailing you in a moment. Thank you all for entering my giveaway!

Box Tops For Education $50,000,000 Flash Parade

Box Tops for Education is a program that is near and dear to my heart. While my daughter was in elementary school I was the Box Top Co-Ordinator for her school for three years. During my three year run I am proud to say that the school program earned more money then they ever had since they joined.

As most of you are aware that with the economy in the sad state that it is in now schools are hurting. The Box Top program is something that any family can participate in to help their school earn money and it doesn't cost you one penny. Products that have Box Tops on them are probably already in your home. All you have to do is clip them off the packaging and send them into your child's school. There are hundreds of products that have a box top on them.

Even if you don't have a school age child your neighborhood school could still benefit if you clip the box tops and mail them into the school.

My daughter is moving on to high school next year. I'm not sure if high schools participate in the program. If her school doesn't I will still clip box tops and send them in to the elementary school she attended.

Go to Box Tops for Education and check out how your childs school is doing. Then start clipping and send them in!

Disclosure: I am part of the MyBlogSpark network of bloggers. All opinions are my own!

New Feature Added

I'd like to invite you to the new A Thrifty Blogger Community on BlogFrog.

I have been a member of BlogFrog for awhile now and decided to add their new community feature to my blog.

I would love to get some good conversations started on money saving type things. So please click below and join. I'd love to get to know my readers better. Once you join you can log in directly from BlogFrog or simply click on the Community button above. I hope to see you there soon!

Old El Paso Winner

Saturday morning I woke up with a sore throat and it was all down hill from there.Aches, pains, chills and a fever that I just can't seem to shake after four days later. Three other family members in the household are all sick now. My poor daughter had to go to school to take her mid terms with a 101 fever. Now way around it I almost kept her home till she told me it was 50% of her grade and she insisted on going. Now who knows who will get it from her.

Any way I managed to pick a winner on Tuesday but didn't have the energy to post it until now.

Congrats barblong. I'll be emailing you soon!

Twitter Hop Thursday

Welcome to Twitter Hop Thursday, hosted by Simply Stacie, The King’s Court IV, Little Yaya’s, Kelly’s Lucky You and Dear Crissy.

Would you like more Twitter followers and be introduced to more neat blogs and businesses out there? Come and join us!!

1. Add your Twitter to the MckLinky (you only have to add it to one and it will appear on all).

2. Click on the Twitter for the four hostesses and follow each of them on Twitter. We will follow you back.

3. Follow as many people on Twitter as you like, but make sure to leave comments with links so they’ll know where to follow you!

Spread the word and add this MckLinky to your blog! Write your own post or copy and paste this one. Below the MckLinky box, you’ll see “Want to be a part of this Blog Hop? Click here for instructions and code”. Have fun Twitter-Hopping along!

We have selected a Twitterer of the Week from last week’s entries and the lucky winner is DragonFlySweetN! They will be in the #6 spot! We will choose next week’s winner from everyone who participated today.

Please only add your Twitter url. All other entries will be deleted. Thank you!

This is a Blog Hop! 12 entries so far... you're next!

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Purex Complete Crystals Softener Giveaway

Back in December I posted my Purex Complete Crystals Softener review. You can read it here .

I have to tell you almost three weeks later and I am still impressed. I just pulled a shirt out of my closet that was washed almost three weeks ago and I can still smell the scent from the softener. And it is a nice mellow scent not an overpowering, take your breath away scent. I really like it.

Purex Complete Crystals Softener is available in three fragrances:

 Fresh Spring Waters TM

Lavender Blossom TM

 and 

Tropical Splash.TM

I sampled the Fresh Spring Waters scent and really liked it but I love the scent of Lavender so as soon as I get down to the Walmart I will pick up a bottle of the Lavender Blossom scent.

Purex has been generous enough to allow me to offer three coupons for a bottle of Purex Complete Crystals Softener to my readers. 

Giveaway Prize: Three lucky winners will win a coupon good for a bottle of Purex Complete Crystals Softener

Giveaway Ends: January 26th, 2011 11:59 pm eastern

Giveaway is open to US residents only

Mandatory Entry: Tell me which one of the scents you will use your coupon for if you are a lucky winner.

Please leave an email address with at least one of your comments!

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 @AThriftyBlogger earns 1 extra entry

4)Tweet a link to my giveaway will earn you 2 more entries.

 You must leave a link to your tweet in your comment.

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

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

Thanks for stopping by and good luck !

Disclaimer: “I am a Purex Insider and help spread the word about the Purex® family of laundry products. As an Insider, I receive sample product and incentives in exchange for participating in brand related activities.”

Nella's ONEder Fund and the National Down Syndrome Society Fund Raiser

Back in October I posted about my grand daughter Addison's open heart surgery. You can read about it here

Addison has Down Syndrome. We knew she would have the heart surgery months before she was even born. It is amazing what the doctor's can tell you these days.

When my daughter first found out the baby she was carrying had a 90% chance of having Down Syndrome she did what most people do these days and went searching the internet. When she did she found the heart breaking story of Kelle Hampton and her daughter Nella. Here is the link to Nella's birth story Let me warn you here you will need a box of tissues. It is a tear jerker!

Unlike my daughter, Kelle and her family had no early indication that Nella had Down Syndrome. It was a complete surprise and Kelle has been writing on her blog about her experience. She has also been doing a lot for Down Syndrome children by getting the word out there and collecting donations.

I think it is wonderfull what Kelle Hampton has done for Down Syndrome Thousands of people read her blog every day. 

Well Nella is turning one and Kelle has decided to send a call out to everyone and anyone.She is collecting donations for the NDDS which is the National Down Syndrome Society by setting up the Nella's ONEder Fund. The NDDS does many things for children who have Down Syndrome.

So I am putting out my own call to my readers. If you can afford to make a small donation. To help Kelle reach her goal of $30,000 dollars please visit her site here and click on the link in her banner to donate.

 She is getting very close to her goal! She has already collected $26,480 as I am writing this. Every dollar helps so please help if you can!

Thank you!!

If you could help spread the word please share this link. Thank you!