I've been studying the cell phone situation again

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

since last week. I think TracFone with straight talk is the way to go. First of all you can get this without a contract. So there would be no cancellation fees. This is a pay as you go plan. There's no way you'd go over. There is an All You Need plan with 1000 minutes and 1000 texts and 30 megabytes of web data, which I think is a great deal! The unlimited plan is $45 a month or $499 for a year.  After looking at my cell plan I believe I could save almost half of my bill every month. Wonder what I could buy with that? Um groceries for a week or a cleaning lady or we could go out to eat. Wow I'd love to be able to do these things. Scott talks about it here hook, line and sinker

After looking at all their phones I believe I can choose from a smartphone, camera phone, video phone, voice navigation, instant messaging, music player and bluetooth. What more could I need? If I can't afford to buy a new phone they have reconditioned ones that are around $10.00! You can even get an international calling plan that is prepaid and allows you to call overseas from your home, work or wherever you might be. Since I have a family member overseas this is ideal for someone like me. Now I can call a friend.

So, to sum up. With Straight Talk you get no credit checks, no activation or termination fees, no contract, no monthly bill. They have all the best phone manufacturers and great nationwide coverage including free 411 service. You save money and they have everything you need.

For more questions check out this video. <object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kx4K5aY9Wlk?version=3&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kx4K5aY9Wlk?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

or even this one. :) <object width="425" height="349"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fdgidnzRx1I?version=3&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fdgidnzRx1I?version=3&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="349" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object>

I can not wait to get my new phone!

Find out how I became Mom of the Year!

On the first day of football practice, my son who was doing so well, fell wrong on his arm. He's a bit on the dramatic side so we didn't think too much about it (theater camp and all). The next day he's still being cautious with that arm. Finally, my dh reaches over and squeezes his wrist lightly and he lost it crying. Crap! We're such good parents. I made an appointment and took him to the doctor. They sent us for an xray and sure enough he's fractured his wrist. Just go ahead and nominate us for parents of the year. We will win! lol They sent us to an orthopedic dr (remember when they used to do casting in normal doctors offices). He has a pretty blue waterproof cast (we went to the lake and swam today, I mean, how freaking cool is that?) He's very proud. You know a cast is cool in the 3rd grade. He says, "I had braces and a cast and no one has had that!" lol Silly boy.

After much thought we decided to pull them both from football and cheerleading. It would have been so nice to have them both in something at the same place. We are going to continue with karate and look at maybe gymnastics after his arm heals. Any mommy moments you're proud of like this one? Come on, don't leave me hanging and feeling alone!

Here's the post where I talked about how excited they were to start football and cheerleading.

Review of the book: Too Rich For A Bride by Mona Hodgson

Mona Hodgson wrote a sweet yet realistic version of a love story that takes place in the 1890's. She writes about what life was like for a woman back then. How women weren't always respected or allowed to voice an opinion. However, she has her heroine be an assertive yet sweet lady. Ida Sinclair, the main character, is a business lady trying to make it in the man's world. This book addresses how she dealt with the sexism from trying to be a lady in a man's business. Ida manages to stand up for herself and maintain her dignity. She falls in love with two men. One a preacher and the other a respected businessman. Who will she choose? Mona manages to keep us in suspense right up until the end.

She does a nice job developing the characters, showing us the scenery and telling us the story. I loved that Ida was an assertive woman. Mona is a Christian author and that is a substory line. She does a nice job blending the Christianity into the story. It was a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon. Check it out and read it for yourself. I think you will find you are a Mona Hodgson fan!

Wordless Wednesday

What a lovely day for a canoe/kayak on the lake. It's so hot here that this is about the only way to stay cool. It will be in the 100's again today! Sweet ducks swimming on the lake to keep their feathers cool. Although the geese kept chasing us if we got too close to their babies, never mind that the babies were on the way to the lake. Mean, honking geese...lol. Stay cool friends.

What are you doing today?

My hubby and I were up at 5:15 to walk our two miles.It was already so hot and humid! The rest of my day was spent cooking green beans, freezing zucchini, making salsa and trying to decide what to do with all those banana peppers! I found this recipe and am thinking about making it. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/07/bacon-wrapped_j/ I love the pioneer woman! Bacon wrapped cream cheese banana peppers? Almost as good as jalapenos? I'll let you know!

Next my daughter and son started cheerleading and football yesterday. First time for both. I hope they can last 1.5 hours in the heat tonight. Pray for us all! My girlie girl said I like karate better! lol Here's a pic of them trying their uniforms on.

Have a wonderful Tuesday friends. May you accomplish all your items on your to do list, have a long talk with a good friend and enjoy 5 minutes of peace and quiet. This is my hope for you.

Call the firemen...

hold on...don't call yet. I don't have my good jeans on. :P (thank you Mrs. Dunphy) Well, it appears that Mandi of Smile and Mama With Me , (shout out...Hi Mandi!}. Where was I? Oh, Mandi has deemed that my blog is on fire! It's a hot award for the blogging community and no, please don't call 911.

So, to be so honored I now must try to think of 7 things I've not already told you. Oh boy, what could it be? We'll be here all night. Sigh. I'll give it a try.

1. This is the second website I've owned/built. The first one I sold and it's doing pretty well.

2. I used to hate to cook and I really enjoy it now.

3. My hubby and I had a great honeymoon. We went to Puerto Rico, St. John USVI, and the Bahamas. It was beautiful. We planned on doing something fabulous for our 10 year anniversary and once you start having kids there is no more money for anything else.

4. Some of my hubby's OCD has rubbed off on me. Things that didn't used to bother me, now do. (all things that bother him, see the connection). LOL

5. I have taught off and on in some capacity for 20 years and am ready to do other things.

6. I'm cutting down on the meat we eat. I'm not saying I'll be a vegetarian, but, I try to have meat at only one meal per day.

7. All summer long I have gotten up at 5:45ish A.M. to walk so that I keep a regular sleep schedule. It's worked great all summer long!

Ok, I hope I managed to give you different things this time. Here's my turn to award this award to other blogs I deemed as "blogs on fire".

1. Flip Flops and Pearls

2. A Magnolia Heart

3. A Common Sense Approach

4. I Am All ATwitter About Life

5. Me, You and Creamed Corn

Hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I have! Happy blog reading today.

Is there a cell phone out there that is lighter on the family's budget?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TracFone for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I've finally found one. Our current plan is so costly for 4 phones. We decided to check out TracFone. TracFone has no credit checks, no contract, no cancellation charges and no activation fees! They have one of the most inexpensive plans around and it is pay as you go. Run out of money, no problem you will not have a big bill to pay for. This was important to my family as we just paid a $200 phone bill with our last carrier! We are making the change to this phone.  Some phones will give you double minutes for the life of the phone! If your phone doesn't give you double minutes you can purchase it separately for $19,99. What a deal. They have all the name brand phones we know and look for. They also have great reception and nationwide calling. Their international calls are charged at the same rate as a state to state call (60 countries). This would be great for those like me with family overseas! 

What kind of plans can they offer you? If you need a simple plan they have calling and texting plans beginning at $10.00. There are plans for 50 minutes at 9.99 and 200 minutes for 29.99 and also larger plans. Budget friendly plans for my family helps me to keep up with where my children are at all times, especially in the summer. It sets my mind at ease! We've been looking at a camera phone with internet, Qwerty keyboard and mp3 for $29.99 for my 15 year old son. He will love it! You should check out the TracFone when you are in the market for a new phone. I can't tell you enough how I love the no contract, no cancellation fee and no activation charges! That is amazing.  What other phone does that? None, that I am aware of. Check out these videos of customers who are very satisfied with their TracFone. If you are in the market for a new plan for your family I think you will come to the same conclusion I did. TracFones are a great way to go. 

real TracFone customers (reliability)

real TracFone customers (no surprise bills)

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Thank you TracFone for having family friendly plans for those of us with budgets that are already tight! Your phones make it so much easier on us. 

You never know when it will be your turn to choose a skilled nursing facility for your loved one.

It's been two years ago this November since I had to make that decision. It came out of the blue. There was no planning for it. You can't plan cardiac events or car accidents. It is so much better to know in advance how to pick one than to try to do it when you are in the middle of an emergency. If you are in the middle of the emergency and reading this, I am so sorry. I hope this post will help you decide how to get the best care for your loved one.

Stevia anyone?

Ok, so I was given a stevia plant and am experimenting making sweet tea with it. I have to admit I like the way the plant tastes better than the powder. To me, when I make tea with stevia packets it is just way too powdery. So, this is pretty much a note to myself with how I should make the stevia for tea.

This is what I did. I picked about 17 leaves or so. Put it in a microwave safe bowl and added 2 cups of water to it. Boiled it, let it cool, boiled it and let it cool again. Then added to tea it was good. This, however, isn't the way it's supposed to be done. So tomorrow I'll be trying this.

"Approximately 6 large leaves chopped finely is a substitute for 1/2 cup of sugar for baking or in cooked recipes. 1 teaspoon of ground stevia is equal to 1 cup of sugar; 2 drops of liquid essence is equal to 1 teaspoon sugar. An extract can be made by combining 1 cup vodka with 3/4 cup fresh stevia leaves in a jar. Shake every day for 2 weeks, then filter through a coffee filter. Add a drop to beverages." I found this at a forum called gardenweb.com I'll let you know how I like it tomorrow! More to come. I would imagine the chopping of the leaves would release more of the sweetness of the plant. Here's hoping I can get this figured out and keep it growing year round in the house! ;)

So do you sweeten with stevia, sugar or something else?

Wordless Wednesday

I always loved to see others sepia pictures. My good friend Terrie took this one of me and my baby girl Ab. So sweet!

Breakfast for dinner?

Why yes, I think I will. Never overlook the simplicity and yet deliciousness of a breakfast for dinner. (It's also a great dinner saver when you forget to set something out...uhhhhhh not that I would know about that.) Yeah, I meant to have dinner for breakfast...wait...breakfast for dinner. Yeah, that's the ticket. It was so cute to see my son trying to figure out if we were eating that, then what was for dinner and when did we eat it. lol I should have taken a picture of that confused little face. We had blueberry pancakes, bacon (what meal is complete without bacon?) and eggs. That's it. That was dinner. And it was good! Carry on! Let's see if I can remember to set something out...I mean make a hugely elegant and yet unbelievably incredible dinner tomorrow night effortlessly. Bahaha...it'll probably be sandwich night. So, what's for dinner tonight?

Can I just say

that I am so happy Subway has brought the orchard chicken salad sandwich back...again! I was able to get it for breakfast the other morning. YUM! Please subway...keep this sandwich on your menu always! thanks!

Thankful Thursday

I am so thankful to be back home. I'm thankful for the clean lines of my home (is that weird?).

Here's my thankful list for today:

1. my hubby who works so hard at his job to take care of his family

2. my children even when they are driving me crazy

3. Summer Camp and VBS

4. a good friend who is taking my girl to vbs since I couldn't get her there on time

5. transportation (bad car accident ahead of me makes me thankful I still have the ability to get where I need too!)

6. my garden and all the great veggies it is giving us to eat

7. picking blueberries with my mom

8. working out and walking Mon-Fri with my husband...every morning at 6am

9. children who clean (after expecting me to pick up after them for way too long with them having no jobs to do...yeah that's about to change.

10. having a long talk with a friend...i need more long talks with friends!

I hope you have a reason to be thankful today!

Wordless Wednesday

My baby boy being a crab in his school play. Don't you love school plays?

Parent's Choice Infant Formula College Savings Sweepstakes offer...must see...

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PBM Products for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

When my children were babies I loved feeding time with them. There were many times when I was not available to feed them. As a working mom, I was so glad that Parent's Choice infant formula was there to help me out! This formula was nutritious, tasty and did not cause problems with their tiny tummies. Now, in addition to being a great formula for babies, there is a chance of winning a $10,000 scholarship in the form of a College Savings 529 plan from PBM Products, LLC, a Perrigo company and Parent's Choice. See the sweepstakes details here: Parent’s Choice Infant Formula Savings Sweepstakes. Make sure you enter! I will be.

As a mom of a high schooler it's amazing to me how Parent's Choice was there for me when my child was a baby and will be there for me as my child prepares for college. Be sure to check out Walmart's Parent's Choice formula. It was my first choice of formula for all three of my babies. You can also find it online at www.walmart.com. I'll never forget my first time out of the house without the baby. It was to shop at WalMart. I walked the nicely shelved aisles and bought my son's snacks, diapers and formula there. Their brand is almost always half the price of the name brand formula. As a mom of 3, I can tell you it is a good quality formula for babies. 

Now don't forget to enter. You have to enter to win. Parent’s Choice Infant Formula Savings Sweepstakes

The sweepstakes runs from July 15 until August 1, 2011.

Stop by Walmart to get your all baby needs today. Have a great day friends.

Dropped two of my babies off at camp...

don't judge me...my oldest baby is now 14. lol I still think of him as my little one. Don't we always think of them as our babies. So the oldest is going to computer camp. He is getting paid to go there and they are feeding him. Wow. It's also at my alma mater MTSU. Go Blue!

My youngest boy is going to a drama camp. He loves to act and is so excited to go there. It's a two week long camp with a big finale on a Saturday. He is going to thrive. I have no idea where he gets his drive to act. It's definitely not from me. I don't want people looking at me. lol

Have fun my babies. I will love you forever, like you for always, always and forever my baby you'll be! (love that book...love you forever).

Trying to get my 10000 steps in today.

Seems like I only normally walk around 5000 steps. While on vacation I got up every morning at 6 and walked 1.5 miles in the morning and a mile in the evening. Today J had to be at work early so we walked at 5:45. It really is nice to walk early in the morning. So quiet and calm. I am so thankful for the simple joy of walking in the quiet of the morning. Getting up this early and walking helps keep me on a schedule. I think it will help my depression. So much that in a month or so I am going to try to get off my meds. Yay, exercise. What do you do to get in your exercise for the day?

Happy July 4th

a day early. I'm so thankful for all the people who have served our country in any way and made it what it is today. I believe in the US of A. We can get out of this debtload and turn this economy around. Let's get to work! The more the US saves the better our economy will be. So start saving those pennies. It's time for us to put ourselves first. God Bless the USA.

Living in Tornado Alley

picture courtesy of : NorCal Blogs. Living in Tornado Alley gets old. Tornadoes are one of the scariest things you could ever go through. We have at least 10 close calls a year and somehow we have been spared so far. This past April we have had some of the worst weather I have ever seen. You might ask, how can you find anything funny about this weather we are having? You have to find humor in the hard things in life.

This just came to me as the weather people kept interrupting us with our weather warnings at every commercial. This would be a hilarious skit for SNL about the weather people on the tv constantly screaming warnings at us.... First scene: weather person looking fresh and talking about the impending doom with a beautiful smile on her face. Second scene: hair a little bit frazzled, eyes getting wider, smile dropping, discussing who needs to take shelter. Third scene: hair more frazzled, eyes bigger, bags under eyes, words not making sense (now we return you to The Voices instead of the Voice, and yes one of them did this), clothes askew telling everyone to get to their safe place right away. Fourth scene: hair completely messed up, eyes so big, looking so much older, bags under eyes, makeup running down their face (they've been up all night at this point) telling everyone not to bother they're all going to die (insert papers flying around in studio and people trying to hold on to cameras.) Imagine Kristin Wiig doing this and saying just kidding after each and every prediction.

I've lived in Tennessee and we've always had tornadoes. They are becoming much more frequent and causing so much more damage. I know how bad they are and am glad we can find something to laugh about while we while away for hours on end in a closet or bathroom in the house. Five people in one bathroom is just plain cruel. Now let's hurry tornado season along, please.