Do you have a summer wish? I do! I am coming up on 7 months in my pregnancy, most of the time spent sick and/or weak, so the house has suffered and as much as I work on getting things done, there is much left to do before baby arrives.  My summer wish would be a combination of cleaning, packing, and organizing!  What? I don’t ask for much, heehee. 

The way I feel about the state of the house makes me think I’ll bypass a simple maid service and go straight for a commercial janitor, LOL!!  OK, maybe not, but it would feel really nice to get a whole top to bottom cleaning - on a regular basis - that isn’t done by me.  Since I am still in the process of turning the office / junk room into a nursery - and still stuck on the removing everything step - I would love to have someone come in with a gazillion boxes and pack absolutely everything up.  I probably wouldn’t even care if they labeled the boxes at this point, LOL! 

As for the organizing, I need to buy a few items to allow for that - bookcases, a china cabinet, etc.  (Am I sounding like a broken record yet? I know I’ve gone on and one about these things I need to get done).  I could stand for someone to reorganize me kitchen, though. Thinking about hitting up my sister to do that when she visits, lol. 

What’s your summer wish?

Sponsored Editorial. All opinions are 100% my own.

How much shopping do you do online? The current trends indicate that A LOT of us are doing A LOT of online shopping.  Do you think to look for coupon codes and discounts before checking out?  There are many available online such as Hewlett Packard coupons, Home Depot coupon code, Best Buy, and about any other online retailer you could possibly think of.  Boutiques may not have coupon codes as readily available, but even they issue them from time to time. 

I always try to check around to see if coupon codes are available before doing the final check out.  Doing so has scored me free shipping, free items with purchase, discounts off my total order, etc.

Links brought to you by Savings.com

Living in Florida, hurricanes are the big news and they quickly trump other news stories. Hurricane Frank is out in the Pacific coast, though moving away from Mexico. Hurricane Danielle is one of several tropical systems brewing in the Atlantic. She is expected to continuing growing in strength, as is Tropical Storm (about to turn Hurricane) Earl right behind her, and just for a little tropical bonus, Fiona is coming off the Africa Coast heading this way. 

{image from weather.com}

As we move through the primaries toward the November mid-term elections, the world of politics is certainly heating up.  Looks like I may be watching election returns from a hospital room, holding my precious baby boy. Ironically, both my boys were / will be born in years of mid-term elections, lol.  We still need to sign up for absentee ballots. Our primaries were the other day, so now I have some researching to do before I cast my November ballot.

Other random news tidbits for today:

New violence and fires in Jerusalem

Continued controversy over the proposed mosque planned near Ground Zero + questions arise over another NYC mosque

Blago post-trial hearing today, plus Arraignment scheduled for Roger Clemens & a three-state 18 stabbings suspect is apprehended and headed for justice in MI.

The egg recall continues, but as far as I know Florida was not included (yet?). It is one thing when a household item gets recalled and they send you a replacement part to make it all better, but when you find out you could be feeding your family unsafe food? Scary.

Also scary? Home sale trends and the stats for July. Sales are way, way down (15 year low!!) and I heard the numbers for those with mortgages under water (not just those in default, but including those who owe more than their home is now worth) is extraordinarily high. I believe it, but I do not like it.  I really want to try to sell our home and move next year, but I’m not feeling very good right now about being able to do that. 

And to round it all out, two were arrested in Canadian terrorist bomb plot with suspicions of terror cell in Canada.

Thanks to SwagBucks, my Amazon gift card balance as of the end of August is / will be $100, plus purchases from Amazon over $25 usually qualify for free shipping!  I am hoping to add to the balance before cashing out in a couple of months. {I actually thought my balance was higher than this, but I haven’t been as active in using it lately.} I’ll start September closing in on another $5 Amazon gift card, making my balance $105.

Although it has taken me most of the year to get to $100 (a few months I didn’t buy gift cards at all), I’ve actually been pretty conservative in my use of SwagBucks.  There are many ways to earn SBs, including searching, surverys, offers, referrals, finding swag codes, etc.  I try to do all my searches using SwagBucks and when I go to web pages, I search by the site name instead of typing in the url.

There are many gift cards, in varying increments, as well as a multitude of other prizes you can buy with your SwagBucks.  I personally stick with the $5 Amazon gift cards because I’ve found it to be the biggest bang for my (swag) buck.  You can order 2 identical prizes per day and up to 5 identical prizes per month.  If you start earning enough SwagBucks to get the 5 prizes of your choice each month, be sure to start making your purchases several days before month’s end.

If you are interested in signing up for SwagBucks, just click HERE & you’ll be on your way to earning free Amazon money (or other prizes of your choice)!!

savvysource.com

 
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Download your FREE Comprehensive Guide to Herbs and Breastfeeding courtesy of Earth Mama Angel Baby, plus click HERE and use the code Milkmaid20 to get 20% off Organic Milkmaid Tea to help support healthy breast milk production.

I interupt my regularly un-scheduled random thoughts and posts to bring you some random thoughts on insurance. Excited? Oh, I know you are. OK, maybe a smidgen more excited if you are actually looking for a business insurance quote.  What? Discussing business insurance isn’t on your top ten list of fun things to do?  OK, for those of you that do not have a business, feel free to go on to the next post.

However, for those of you that do have a business (of any type or size), how do you decide if you actually need business insurance? What if you are technically the only “employee”? What if you work at home? What if your business is simply a company that you sell for, though you are your own business?  It seems today there are so many businesses that technically do not fall under the traditional business umbrella.

Like other forms of insurance, it appears insurance is sold by state, so there’s Alaska business insurance, Hawaii business insurance, etc. 

What about you - do you have or plan to get business insurance? How big does your business need to be to insure it? And how much insurance is enough?

Links brought to you by NetQuote.com. Thoughts & opinions are my own.

As I am preparing to say goodbye to the office / junk room and hello to the nursery, I have been focusing a lot on furnishings & layout, painting the walls, and replacing the carpet.  Just recently I started wondering about what kind of lighting fixture I’d want in there. Right now it is just the very very basic blah type and has to go. 

I came across an offer to get a free Lighting Magazine on a cute new blog, Raising 3 Ladies.  I’m hoping it will give me some inspiration. 

A little bit ago, I posted about yet another new blog I created, Two’s Enough.  I have only been semi-regualr with posting there right now, but my goal is to keep it more personal than my other blogs, so I have been posting pictures and misc updates on the pregnancy and family.  I sometimes have so much going on that I felt it was getting lost in the mix at Shake The Salt.  If you haven’t yet visited, or missed any of the posts, now is a good chance to catch up with our goings-on. 

Aug 20: Tinkerbell Is… Ummm… Tinker Beau…

Aug 19: 29 Weeks And Well Into The Third Trimester!

Aug 19: Healthy, Independent Snacking For My Preschooler

Aug 19: My Simple Strawberry & Banana Smoothie Recipe

Aug 11: Birds At The Beach

Aug 6: Facebook Friday

Aug 5: 27 Weeks Today!

Aug 4: Making A Splash

Aug 2: August Already???

July 29: Good Morning

July 29: 26 Weeks!

July 28: Tinkerbell… Lion In The Grass!

July 28: Two’s Enough… Life With Our Two Sons

I’ve fallen off the frugal wagon (kinda, and shhhh! don’t tell) and boy did THAT hard landing hurt!!  I just haven’t had the time, energy, or care (to be completely honest) to do the leg work needed to get the deals lately.  It isn’t that it is a huge hassle, it is just that over the course of the pregnancy, a lot of prior priorities got back-burnered.  I’m not proud of it really, but it is what it is. 

As I am nearing the end of the pregnancy, I know there are a lot of things I need to get in order and that includes frugal shopping and stockpiling. I did slack on buying the Sunday papers for a bit and even when I restarted, it has been sporadic. In addition to the Sunday coupons, I need to use more online coupons. Deals don’t happen without the coupons. Although I take the lazy road and look up coupon matchups (where sites and blogs have the sales listed, along with what coupons to use and where to find them), I do still like to browse the grocery ads.  Along with the grocery ads, I pay special attention to the weekly ad circulars for the big box stores (Walmart, Target, etc) and office supply stores - especially during the Back To School season. 

In my money saving quest, I am always checking out new (or new to me) couponing sites and blogs, and recently discovered BeFrugal.com.  It is a plethora of coupon codes, free shipping offers, weekly ads, etc, etc. A good place to get in the know and to bookmark.

If you are buying something online, always, ALWAYS see if there is a coupon code available before finalizing and paying for your order. I have received free shipping and percentages off my orders by doing this, and sometimes when buying clearanced items, which just sweetened the deal. 

I will be letting you know how my quest to get back on the frugal wagon goes… just as soon as it is actually going…. 

Sponsored links, however all opinions are 100% my own.

What’s cheap today at your favorite stores? Sign up for the daily deal notifications to find out! 

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Ramblers Way. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was invited to go on a $200 mock shopping spree at Ramblers Way Farm.  Granted, not nearly as fun as a real $200 shopping spree, but hey - I’m game. It is a lazy Saturday afternoon and I need a slight diversion from my four year old that refuses to simply lie down in his bed for more than 5.2 seconds at a time. We call it Quiet Time. He hasn’t napped since before he was 2, but Mommy certainly needs those little moments still.

 
We have a baby on the way, so I would love to include baby clothing on my wish list / mock shopping spree, but I guess mommies sometimes need a little push to focus on themselves? 

One basic in my wardrobe is the camisole. This is Forida, very hot 95% of the year. The cami is also great for layering even in cooler temps. It runs $55 at Ramblers Way Farm. Hard to believe this thin, comfy looking cami is actually wool. The only wool I was familiar with was thick and itchy. Hmmm, make that two camisoles.

The next item for my mock shopping spree would be the Cross Neck Long Sleeve Top (Regular) for $85.  This would be a great top for our Florida winters and I could easily throw a jacket or sweater over it if the temps dropped more than normal.  That would bring me to $195, just shy of the $200 mark. 

 Wool isn’t something I really considered as being a part of my Florida wardrobe, but I guess Ramblers Way kinda changed that. Thin, soft, NON-ITCHY wool that I can wear year round - even in Florida? Nice job! Technology certainly changes things and Ramblers Way Farm seems to have honed the wool industries technology to create more practical, desirable, everyday soft & light-weight wool clothing. 

Disney Movie Rewards is offering a free download of “Tinker Bell And The Great Fairy Rescue” Story Book. View rewards “up to 400 points”.  It is listed for 0 points.  Enjoy!!

Also, check out these free, fun Tinker Bell activities:

Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue releases as a Blu-Ray Combo Pack, DVD and Movie Download on Tuesday, September 21, 2010.

I want to redecorate our master bedroom - mainly the walls and add bookcases for organization.  A few random ideas I’ve come across while searching…

I’m not sure if I’d do the whole wall (and only one wall, and maybe not even this pattern), but I am looking for something for the wall behind the bed.  Most of the exposed part of the wall will just be above the bed, so it is almost mock-headboard in a way.  I’m not really sold on this, but wanted to save it to look back on. 

Good Housekeeping

 And…. a couple idea articles…. again, to save to look back on. 

How To Create A Peaceful Retreat When You Redecorate The Bedroom

Organizing A Bedroom

I have this love / hate relationshp with bills. I love what I get out of it, I just hate actually paying the bill to make it happen.  I know, who actually likes paying bills, right?  I guess I have been like a lot of people and just going a long and paying “the bill” because that is what you are supposed to do. {Note: I am not advocating not paying the bills, stay with me.} Bill comes in, stroke a check - ha! Who am I kidding? I almost never write checks, anymore… most are paid online or over the phone… but I digress. 

Then one day I started questioning (to myself only at that point) if I actually needed to pay that amount on the bill. I am hearing people are calling DirecTV and getting rates lowered (which is on my to do list, can’t hurt to ask!), but the whole TV set up deal is something else I have plans for, which I’ve mentioned here, but I figure a lower rate in the meantime - for the same service - would certainly be nice.

Then, hubs was goofing around online and actually did one of those “check our rates” auto insurance thingies. And, oh-my-gosh, it was $40 less per month. We haven’t officially changed over yet, but I think we will be very soon. Then I can almost justify the fact that we just got storage because  I have  we have too much stuff.  {Look, baby is coming. Fast. And that room has to get cleared out. Now. It is what it is. But, I do plan to go through everything afterwards and do lots of tossing.}  My goal is to actually save money though and not just replace the savings with different bills.  We’ll see how that goes!

At least it is all still pretty much small potatoes in the big picture and I’m not out trying to find the best local business quotes. My work is pretty much all online. And in Florida. But for those in IL or TX with a business you need insured, here’s a couple quick links for ya: local Illinois business insurance and TX business insurance. 

Anyway, it looks like we are going to change auto insurance companies and I am going to keep looking for ways to cut back bills without actually sacrificing those things I’ve become spoiled with.

Links brought to you by localinsurance.com. All opinions are 100% my own.