CSN for Christmas Shopping

Christmas is right around the corner and if you shop online CSN has some great deals going on right now. If you have a man in your life and his wish list to Santa includes a flatscreen tv you should check out the TV stands for flat screens at the CSN site.

My husband who has had a flatscreen on his wish list for awhile now always talks about mounting it on the wall but I don't think he has seen some of the gorgeous stands that CSN has available. Especially the corner stands. If and when he ever get his wish granted I am going to show him the stands at CSN. I would rather watch tv at eye level then to have to twist my neck up to look at a screen that is mounted higher on the wall then I stand.

Disclosure: This is a teaser post for CSN. Look for my upcoming CSN giveaway.

Tipu's Black Instant Chai Tea Review and Giveaway

There is nothing better on a chilly day then a nice, warm cup of Chai Tea. Did she say chilly? Yes I said chilly. I know most of you are probably freezing half to death where you live but I live in Florida. No I am not rubbing it in. In July, August and September I am wishing for a snow storm to blow in and you all are thinking how do those crazy people stand it down there when it's 104 in the shade.

  A cold front is blowing in and for us that means rain and the temps to dip below 70. Today it's a nice 69 degrees and expected to drop into the 40's tonight.

What better time is there for a cup of chai tea? Oh and when it is 104 in the shade I am sipping on iced chai tea when the urge strikes me.

The good folks at Tipu's Chai were nice enough to ask me to review their chai tea and sent me a 4 oz bag of their Instant Black Chai. They also offered the same 4 oz bag of  Instant Black Chai to one of my readers.

I had never heard of the Tipu's brand of chai tea before so I immediately went to their website to check things out. I was very impressed with what i read there and couldn't wait to get my sample to try.

The Tipu's brand of instant chai was a bit different from any other instant chai I had ever bought.

The main difference is that there are no added sweeteners. Their instant chai is nothing but a blend of black tea and spices. This intrigued me and I liked the idea of adding my own sweetener. Whether it be sugar or honey depending on the mood I was in. For those of you who avoid refined sugar it is an added benefit. With Tipu's Chai you can use whatever sweetener you use instead of refined sugar.

About Tipu's Chai

At Tipu’s Chai we blend our own mix of spices and organic Indian tea to create a bold, comforting balance of spiciness and depth. Passed from my grandmother to my mother and then to me, this recipe has traveled a long way from Gujarat in India to Africa, England, Montana and now to your very own cup. Enjoy in health. - Bipin Patel, President 

 

You can buy Tipu's Chai at their website or where it is served possibly in your area. You can check here to see if it is.

What I liked: I really like the fact that Tipu's Chai does not have any sweetener added and I could add my own, as much or as little as I want.  It has a very nice chai tea flavor.  Some chai teas can be a bit weak in the spice department. Not Tipu's! The Instant Black Chai that I tried has a nice balance of black tea and spice flavor.

 

What I did not like: The only thing I did not like about the Tipu's Instant Black Chai had nothing to do with the flavor of the product, which I love. 

The microground instant chai comes in a resealable  bag and when I make a cup I have to try to reach down into the bag with my measuring spoon to scoop the tea out. The bag is a bit taller then it needs to be. A nice metal container would have been easier to scoop the tea out of but I am sure a container like that would add considerable cost to the tea. Something the company probably doesn't want to do. For my own use I plan to empty the bag into a glass container of my own with  wide mouth lid so it will be easier to scoop.

 That said I am enjoying my bag of Tipus Chai. I think it is one of the best Chai tea products I have ever tasted.

Would you like to win your own 4 oz bag of Tipu's Instant Black Chai Tea?

 Giveaway ends Sunday December 19th, 2010 at 11:59 pm est

Here's what you need to do:

Please leave your email address on at least one comment so that I may contact you if you win. If you do not and you happen to be the winner I will draw another winner at my own discretion. 

Mandatory entry:

Please visit the Tipu's Chai Facebook page and like it. Come back here and leave me a comment letting me know. This will earn you 2 entries into my giveaway.

If you leave a comment on their page letting them know you entered my giveaway you will earn a bonus entry. When you leave your comment let me know it is the bonus entry.

 

Would you like more chances to win?

1) Follow Tupi's Chai on Twitter @Tupischai 1 extra entry

2) Follow me on twitter @timesrrtuff 1 extra entry

3) Tweet a link to my giveaway. Leave the link to your tweet in your comment and use the hashtag #Tipuschai. You may do this once a day. 1 entry per tweet

3) Like my Times Are Tuff Facebook page 1 entry

4) Sign up for email updates to my blog. There is a subscription box in the right hand sidebar ---->> 1 entry

5) Follow my blog on Google Friend Connect 2 entry

If you do any of the above already just leave a comment letting me know!

 Good luck!

 

Disclosure: I received a product sample from Tipu's Chai in exchange for my review and one for a giveaway. I did not receive any other compensation for this blog post. All opinions in this review are my own.

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