BoomerTowne Bites the Dust!

I have been meaning to blog about this for a couple of weeks, but it does seem that BoomerTowne has shut down for good. I had $300 in pending gift cards that I will never see which is sad. I knew something was wrong when it was August, and the May rewards were still pending. I'm sorry to everyone I referred that wasted their time and will never get their reward. They were sending them out prior to May, otherwise, I would never joined in the first place. It's very upsetting when a site just disappears in the night and no message or warning. I did send an email to the company that was in charge of rewards but this is the reply I received below.

Thank you for your e-mail.

While Laughlin/Constable was hired by the owner to develop and maintain certain aspects of the site, Laughlin/Constable does not own the site; was never responsible for any aspect of the points program; and no longer is working with the owner or manager of the site.

The owner has not returned our calls and has not left us with forwarding information.

Regards,

Paul

Is Your Child Safe?

I constantly worry about my son's safety in many ways. I worry about him crossing the street and being kidnapped. I also have to worry about if my neighbors are sex offenders. Child Molesters have to register in my state, and you can check out where they live by typing in a zip code. This is a great way to check out how safe your neighborhood is where you live. You can also get a full name, address, picture, and other information. Protect your family with this great website.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #34

Today's thrifty living tip is make double or triple batches when cooking. You can't always do this since some foods don't freeze. But there are many dishes that you can make at least a double batch of while cooking. It will save you lots of time and money. There are nights when you don't feel like cooking. No problem since you can take something out that morning, let it thaw during the day, and just pop in the oven or microwave that evening. There will be less dishes to do as well which is an added bonus.

Is Your Skin Thirsty?

Since I've been using the Oil of Olay Seven Signs of Aging with Blemish Control face wash, I have noticed my skin is looking so much nicer. I've tried many different kinds of severe acne treatment face washes and lotions, but using a moisturizing face wash seemed nuts. I do have oily skin so why would I want to lather on more? I was very wrong, and I even put on an additional richer moisturizer for night. I just make sure it's oil free, but my skin is much softer and smoother. The older you get, the more your skin needs moisture. I am very pleased with the Oil of Olay products.

Winners of the 5,000 Entrecard Drawing!

I just want to thank all the people that entered this drawing by commenting and posting on their blogs. I used random.org to pick the winners. I will leave a comment on your blog if you are the winner. If you have more than one blog, then please let me know what blog you want me to use to send your credits. Thanks again everyone and I will have another Entrecard contest in the very near future.

Now without further delay......wait we need a drumroll please......the winners are:

Top Prize of 2,000 EC is Sara with News from NOLA!!!
1st Runner Up of 1,500 EC is Jamie Sue with Free Printable Fun for Everyone
2nd Runner Up: 1,000 EC is Sherry with I Luv Contest
3rd Runner Up: 500 EC is Angie with Angie's Photo Blog

Congrats to all the winners and I will leave a comment to let you know that you won. Just let me know which blog (those with multiple ones) which blog you want me to send the EC credits. Thanks again to everyone who participated!

Marketing Your Business

There are many great ways to market your business like the more obvious business cards, but there are also other creative ways. You could give away personalized pens, magnets, shirts, hats, or even calenders. I even had some calender magnets made to give to return customers. I was also thinking of handing out punch cards. For each customer that buys $25, then they would get a punch. After the card was filled, they can receive $25 gift certificate or Tupperware of that value. It would be a great way to stand out from the crowd.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #33

Today's thrifty living tip is use cash when shopping. I take out so much cash and put them in envelopes marked grocery, spending, utilities, and other areas. I buy a gas card for myself and hubby to use each month since we get discounts on gas when using the store gift card. Since I have been using cash to buy the groceries, I have noticed I spend less. I still find that I can overspend even when I use my debit card. If having cash makes you nervous, then get a gift card to use. Once the money in the envelope is gone, then I quit spending for the month. This has been the best method I've tried for making myself accountable for my spending.

Get Organized for Back to School

I can still remember my first day of school like it just happened yesterday. I was very excited about all the kids I would meet, but I was a little worried if my new teacher was going to be mean or nice. I had nothing to worry about, since it turned out, that my teacher was very nice. I can still remember all the great things I learned in Kindergarten. I learned my alphabet, numbers, colors, shapes, and we even had to learn how to tie our shoes. I wore this very cute blue dress with ruffles. My mom loved dressing me in these ruffle dresses with barrettes in my hair. I met my first best friend in that class. We are still best friends all these many years later.

The worst part was how many school supplies I had to bring. I think if I had color labels on them, then it would have been easier to have known which scissors were mine. My parents did write my name but sometimes the name would smudge off over the school year. Dymo label maker is a great way to organize not only school supplies, but clothes, boxes, and so much more. My parents could also have marked my school clothes for each day. It would have made getting dressed in the morning easier and faster.

I'm Giving Away 5,000 Entrecard Credits!

This is my first big Entrecard giveaway! I'm going to give away a total of 5,000 points to several lucky readers. This starts today and will end on Wednesday, September 24th, at 9PM CST! You can leave comments up until 9PM CST, but after that then I have to pick the winners. It's so easy since all you have to do is just leave a comment to get an entry. If you want more entries, then write a post linking to my blog and this contest to get 3 more entries.

Limit one blog per entry, but if you have more than one blog then you can enter them all. Please only blogs that have had posts in the last 30 days. Don't comment with a blog that you haven't used in months. I am using random.org to pick the winners. Good luck and have fun! Here are the prizes below:

Grand Prize: 2,000 EC
1st Runner Up: 1,500 EC
2nd Runner Up: 1,000 EC
3rd Runner Up: 500 EC

Got Beads?

The internet has been a great way to find talented designers that make the most amazing jewelry creations I've ever seen. Many of them will also create a custom piece if you request one. I am sure they use gemstone beads, and many other one of a kind beads that can't be find in the big box stores.

Designers have been able to use the internet as a wonderful tool in finding these unique beads. Beads of Cambay is a great website that offers a huge variety of wholesale gemstone beads, freshwater pearls, copper beads, brass beads, along with many other kinds of beads. You can also get discounts up to 30% off on your order. They offer flat rate Fedex shipping on all orders. International shipping is not a problem since it's available to overseas customers. They also have refunds if you aren't fully satisfied.

Beads of Camby has a press release available to learn more about this great website. They also have an online newsletter you can sign up for to get the newest releases and special savings. You can also visit them in person at the Intergalactic Bead & Jewelry Show. Check out their great assortment of “high quality” wholesale beads today.

TMR Frugal Living Tip #32

I have really missed posting these daily tips. Today's thrifty tip is have a well stocked pantry. This helped me tremendously after Hurricane Gustav barreled through my area. I had close to 10 gallons of drinking water, canned goods, and many other basic staples like flour, sugar, rice, baking supplies, and such. I was able to feed my family well for several days. We did leave after four days since my mom had electricity at her house. Because I was prepared, we didn't have to panic about how we were going to eat since it took several days for grocery stores to reopen. There will always be a natural disaster anywhere you live from snow, earthquakes, hurricanes, or something else. It is always a good idea to have at least 1-2 week supply of food in your pantry.

Skin Woes

The heat was the worst thing about the Hurricane. I really wished we had a wonderful cool front that we got this week. It's already so hot and humid in South Louisiana, but no air conditioning is even worse. My skin really suffered that week. I had terrible acne and got this small red bumps all over one arm. It finally went away this week, but it took longer than normal to clear.

All Systems Go!

We got our cable, phone, and internet services back Monday afternoon. I went to the local office to let them know, and it was up and running that afternoon! YAY! Thanks Charter for restoring it all. I do think we might get a basic phone line with AT&T so we can have phone service when the power goes out. I love how cheap Charter's phone package is, but it won't work without power. There wasn't a cell signal either for 3 days after Gustav. It's quite sad how accustomed I have become to all the technology we use on a daily basis. We did play board games as family and cards. I will try to continue my daily thrifty living tips starting tomorrow. I'm back and will try to update my blogs soon this week. Thanks again for all the great comments and emails. It was very nice to read them all. You guys rock!

Personalize Your Holiday Cards

The holidays are right around the corner starting with Thanksgiving and then Christmas! I already have almost all my shopping done, but I really want personalized Christmas cards this year. I found this great website where I can make my own personalized Holiday cards. They also offer foil seals, metallic gel pens, and more for a really snazzy look.

There are so many great cards to choose from, but I came across these really neat calender cards. I know many people in my family would love them. This is better to me than the standard greeting you would find inside a Holiday card. Or you could create your own photo greeting card by uploading a picture. Grandparents love those kind of greeting cards.

GalleryCollection.com generously donated over 180,000 holiday cards last year to our deployed troops overseas. All these cards went out in the Soliders' Angels for Holiday care packages which is a wonderful way to show our troops how much we appreciate what they do for our country. I think everyone should become involved in this great program. 'May no soldier go unloved' is the Soliders' Angels motto. So many of them are away from their loved ones which is more reason that we should do more to show our support. I applaud GalleryCollection.com for giving such a generous donation to our troops. What will you do to show our soldiers some love this holiday season?

My Very First Award!

I'm so excited that I was nominated by Mommy Mia's World for my very first one. Her blog is great and thanks so much for the nomination. It was a very pleasant surprise, and perfect timing after the whole Hurricane Gustav fiasco.

I do want to apologize to any blogs that I nominate below if you have already received this award. I'm sure most of you have, but my list is below. Please check out these great blogs.

Coupon Cravings
The Eclectic WAHM
Coupon Mom Mom
View From a Blonde
Hooray for Freebates

Bring Your Files with You!

I love having a flash drive to keep all my important documents, files, and pictures. They are so thin and light weight that you can put it in your key chain, purse, or pocket. I can download them to any computer and I won't lose my important pictures to a hurricane. If you don't have one, then I would highly recommend buying one. They are very inexpensive so no excuse not to get one.

Job Hunting?

After we came back from our forced vacation for Gustav, I really thought my husband might have to find a new job. I was already worried about how well my house fared from the strong winds, and then I had a job search for my husband in the back of my mind. We were very fortunate that didn't happen, but it is a good idea to have a plan for the worst case scenario. Your life can sometimes change in the blink of an eye.

We're Back!!!

First I have to thank everyone for their very kind words. It really meant a lot to me to see all the great comments that supported me, prayed for me, and wishes for our safety. I just can't thank you enough and it was wonderful to read them.

We came back last Thursday and have moved in with my mom. We were told that we wouldn't have electricity for up to 6 weeks. We got it back last night. YAY! But we won't have cable, phone, or internet for who knows how long. BOO! I'm very grateful we at least have our house, with no serious damage, and cold A/C again. I don't want anyone to think I've abandoned my readers, but it's going to take some time until I get back to a more normal life.

I am going to start pushing them pretty hard next week to get my services back. They love to give you the run around about why they can't come to send a technician to look at the line. At least I'm getting a credit for the weeks I haven't had any service so that does help. I hope to get it all back by next week. I'll be able to check in until we go back home this weekend. I just wanted to update that we are safe and sound.

Moving or Relocating?

Well after my not so great adventures after Gustav, we did give moving a lot of consideration. It's never easy to leave your friends and family, and then you have to start over in a new and strange area. Some people would also consider it a wonderful adventure. We had several areas in mind, including, Atlanta. There are some wonderful jobs in Atlanta that we did look over online. We decided to stay put for now since the last big one was over 15 years ago.

Losing Weight

I personally think the best way to lose weight is to eat healthy and exercise. Losing weight slowly is also better than trying a crash diet since it should be more of a lifestyle change. Some people want instant gratification so they use weight loss pills. There are safe ones so I would recommend talking to a doctor first before using.