10 Day Sample of Bare Escentuals' matte foundation PLUS a baby buki brush!

It looks like this deal is down for now, I'll post it back up as soon as I see it's up again :(

Free Make up!!  10 Day Sample of Bare Escentuals' matte foundation PLUS a baby buki brush!

This is a PDF coupon! 
You take this coupon into the Sephora, inside a J.C. Penny's. I think most have a Sephora in them now.
HERE
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Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

Free Country Music Downloads

Free MP3 Download – New Country Playlist ITunes - People Magazine

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Merle Haggard – How Did You Find Me Here
• Jaron and The Long Road to Love – Pray for You
• Court Yard Hounds – The Coast
• Trailer Choir – Rollin’ Through the Sunshine
• The Band Perry – If I Die Young
• Thompson Square – Let’s Fight
• Chely Wright – Snow Globe
• Point of Grace – Come to Jesus
• Rockie Lynne – Heroes Come From Small Towns
• 4Troops – Angel
• Jamie Tate – I’ll Give My All

Here

Enjoy!
Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.

What we're doing this Summer....

My children aren't just getting out of school like most. They're home all of the time and since I consider life in general school, they're always "in school" and we are always doing fun things.
We make every where we go an adventure and learning experience.
Here's what we have been and will be doing this summer.
Living in Florida and 5 mins from the beach is wonderful. We went to the beach the other day and saw a school of around 30 Porpoise. It was beautiful and so relaxing. We also have several friends with pools and will be visiting some Springs around Florida this summer too.

We enjoy local museums and historical areas. 30 mins North of us is S. Augustine, Fl the nation's oldest City. There are also wonderful museums in Jacksonville, Daytona, and Orlando. We visit Zoos too.  We have play dates where we visit splash parks, enjoy the air conditioning at our friends' homes, and visit the library quite often. Go to book stores and have picnics at parks.
We also have year round passes to Sea World and will be going camping at Disney's Camp Wilderness. It will be a Fun Summer! Not really any "vaacations" for us since we can't go any where until Winter because of our schedules. 
Where are you going on vacation or doing?

Mandie Stevens is owner of Taking Time for Mommy & Mommy Reads too Much. She's a homeschooling mom of 2 girls and believes every mom should take a little time for herself.
  

Mommy in Me Time

We live in a world where we are some bombarded with chaos, busyness and information, that we literally have news on top of news! Look at the twenty four hour news channels we have on TV now. They were quite the buzz when they first came out. Then, there were the tickers. No, some of them have tickers on top of tickers on top of whatever show they happen to have on! Noise, noise, noise.

Our modern world has taken us away from personal interactions with people, and rarely do we hear the crickets chirping at night any more. So, what are we to do when all we want to do is relax with a good book, and simply enjoy the sounds around us?

Do just that. It’s a simple answer. We have to chase the kids around the house all day. Some of us, myself included, also have to chase furry kids around the house all day! LOL. In all actuality, we do need to somehow find time for ourselves. If we don’t take breaks, we will lose our ability to really focus on the needs of our families. It is so easy to get swept up in the chaos and noise of our daily lives. I know that I have found that if I don’t take some “me” time, I am not the woman I want to be.

The great thing about modern life is convenience. We have such conveniences, that it doesn’t require much for us to be able to get that “me” time. If it’s a beautiful day out, let the kids play in the yard and read an e-book on your laptop while you’re out there with them. If you want to curl up with a good book instead, take a few minutes, and have some night time tea and read before bed. If it’s easier, you can listen to a book on CD while you exercise. There are plenty of options for us book lovers to still enjoy a good book while living in such a hectic world.

No one ever said motherhood was easy. Motherhood and writer-hood aren’t easy, either. But, we have ways of making our passions, careers and hobbies work for us so that we can still stay focused on our families without losing ourselves. We all know how easy it is to forget about ourselves in the needs of our families. But sometimes, our families need us to take care of ourselves. So take those few extra minutes to read whenever you get the chance. It’s relaxing and enjoyable for you, and it will help make your family that much better! Happy reading!

L. E. Harvey is an author from Philadelphia, PA. She also works as an alternative and pinup model; but her main work is with her family of her partner, 4 cats, a dog, and her 4 year old step-daughter. L. E. Harvey’s fictional work includes books Loving Her; Unbreakable Hostage; Imperfect (due for release in July); Impeccable (the sequel to Imperfect. A current work-in-progress) and Frozen Solid (another work-in-progress novel).

For more on L. E. Harvey and her books, check out her website at www.leharvey.com

Coupon Match-ups for the Week

CVS Preview and Matchup for upcoming Week

Walgreen's Wags Preview and Matchup for upcoming Week

RiteAid Preview and Matchup for upcoming Week

Food Lion Ad for Upcoming Week Best Deals

Harris Teeter Triples CONFIRMED!!!

Target Preview Ad for Upcoming Week

Finding Inspiration for Invention in Life's Major Annoyances

By Renee Martin,
Co-Author of The Risk Takers: 16 Women and Men Who Built Great Businesses Share Their Entrepreneurial Strategies For Success

To paraphrase a well-worn idiom, annoyance is the mother of invention.

So, mompreneurs, if your revenues are dwindling and you need to develop new products or services, you might follow the example recently set by a group of "kidpreneurs" in Southern California. Jot down a list of everyday pet peeves and ask yourself: Is this an entrepreneurial opportunity?

That approach helped launch Sanitation's Solutions Inc., which pitched its I-Flush product proposal to a panel of venture capitalists on May 21. What does the I-Flush do? It provides a solution for one of the longest-standing annoyances perpetrated by mankind: the habit of leaving the toilet seat up. The I-Flush's pulley-based system prevents toilet users from flushing unless the toilet seat and lid are down. Sanitation's Solutions is made up of senior high school students at the California Academy of Math and Science in Carson, Calif.

As part of a class project, seniors at the school worked in teams of nine to design products, write business plans and develop marketing campaigns. The project culminated in a presentation to a panel of venture capitalists -- a group of local business people and investors who served as judges. This competition, developed by high school teacher Greg Fisher, was recently featured in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

This school exercise drives home a concept that every mompreneur needs to integrate into her everyday life: Pet peeves, whether they are yours or a prospective client's, can translate into entrepreneurial opportunity. You just have to train yourself to think that way, and to have the commitment and patience to take full advantage whenever it's feasible.

Consider the example that Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, set. The idea for Spanx first came to Blakely in 1998, while she was preparing for an open-mic appearance at a comedy club. At the time she was a 27-year-old office-supply sales manager who moonlighted as an amateur comic. Blakely was planning to wear a pair of white slacks and sexy sandals on stage. The annoyance she encountered while getting dressed: visible panty lines and the less-than-perfect contour of her backside. So she opted for a do-it-yourself solution. She grabbed some scissors, cut the feet out of a pair of control-top pantyhose and slipped them on. "That's when I had my epiphany," she says.

Blakely later researched and wrote a patent for footless pantyhose. That led to Spanx, a one-time home-based business that eventually outgrew the confines of her apartment and made her a multimillionaire. Blakely's story is featured in a new book, The Risk Takers: 16 Women and Men Share Their Entrepreneurial Strategies for Success.

As a mompreneur, you can also use your "annoyance radar" to develop ways to improve your existing product offerings. During sales calls, really listen to prospective clients. Pose questions that will draw out what irks them about the product or services they're already using. Use that information to exploit your competitor's weakness and make it your strength.

This approach can also help you tap an underserved niche. You can develop products and services that are much more tailored to meeting the needs of a specific group of clients. With some savvy marketing, you can ensure that customers in a particular field come to view you as a specialist. For example, if you're a graphic artist, you may discover a need for a bundle of products tailor-made for local architects, or restaurant owners, or ski resort operators.

Keep in mind that some market niches are just too specialized for large corporations to consider. But you as a small business owner can exploit that fact by identifying the needs and the pet peeves of people in that niche. Your business is nimble enough to quickly adapt to their specialized needs.

Remember this during your next sales call. If a prospective client starts whining, don't tune out. Tune in and use your creativity to develop a solution that gives you an edge over your competitors.

© 2010 Renee Martin, co-author of The Risk Takers: 16 Women and Men Who Built Great Businesses Share Their Entrepreneurial Strategies For Success
Author Bio
Renee Martin was a dynamic real estate broker when she switched careers entirely, to work in community service. She became a rape counselor, a court-appointed special advocate for The Children's Court (CASA), a director of community relations of a child abuse crisis center, and a public relations spokesperson for many community organizations. After publication of the book, she and Don coauthored, The Survival Guide for Women, she became a frequent and popular speaker at women's seminars across the country.

For more information, please visit www.RiskTakersBook.com.

Homeschool Convention 2010!

Homeschooling can be a very solitary venture sometimes. Even with the explosion of homeschool groups both online and locally based, it’s easy to feel isolated sometimes as a mom or dad teaching at home. Additionally, curriculum purchasing can be frustrating when it’s done completely online; not getting your hands on the books or materials sometimes means that homeschoolers end up purchasing the wrong tools. And that is why homeschool conventions exist.  When I began my homeschooling journey back in New Jersey, I attended my first convention at the end of my first year as a homeschooling mom. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I drove a little more than an hour away from home, taking my oldest daughter with me. When we arrived, we found a small convention hall (Edison, NJ isn’t exactly the epicenter of anything!) with vendors set up in rows. Workshops (basically informational lectures) were offered in various rooms adjoining the hall. Right outside the vendor area there was a large area for the sale of used curriculum, and even a table of “Take me, I’m free!” materials. It was an eye-opening experience for me.  I hadn’t been around so many homeschoolers—ever. And the opportunity to put my hands on books I’d been examining on the internet made me giddy. I don’t think I bought too much during that first convention. I know I took away lots of information and brochures, and later in the summer, I placed an online order based on what I found there. I also attended quite a few workshops. That was nine years ago. In the interim, I’ve both attended and worked several NJ homeschool conventions, and over the past four years, I’ve become a regular attendee at the country’s largest homeschool convention offered by the Florida Parent Educators Association. Each May, FPEA takes over a resort. Homeschoolers from all over Florida and other bordering states swarm the convention floor. The first FPEA convention I attended was overwhelming. Coming from my little NJ show, I wasn’t prepared for the sheer scope of the vendors’ hall. It opened on Thursday evening, with both Friday and Saturday offering full days of shopping opportunities.  Since that first experience in Florida, I’ve gotten used to the size of the convention. I’ve learned how to navigate the floor quickly and easily. But I never fail to be impressed and amazed by the whole thing. Imagine the varied shapes of homeschooling families. Now picture a representative group of those families. That’s a good sketch of what a convention looks like. There are lots of very large families as well as the more “typical” smaller ones. It’s not unusual to see conservatively dressed children and women, as homeschooling is very popular among groups who embrace that lifestyle. There are certainly lots of children on the show floor, from tiny nursing babies to those who are about to graduate.  The vendors include what you might expect: larger homeschool companies offering a rare chance to examine all their materials and book and supply companies with every kind of paper, pencil, crayon you can imagine. There are also college tables, as well as reps from different attractions that cater to the homeschool set. I haven’t participated in workshops or lectures for several years, but they are certainly available for those who need guidance, inspiration or information. Really, all the inspiration I need comes from simply walking the convention and seeing all these families, thriving and growing together, learning in every different style under the sun. It never fails to get me excited for a new school year


Tawdra Kandle is stay-at-home, homeschooling mom of four children who range in age from 9 years to 21 years. She and her husband of over 22 years live in central Florida, where he is in seminary. Tawdra spends most of her precious free time writing and reading, and she loves to travel. She is also a resident writer for Taking Time for Mommy. View more of her Articles HERE. You can also follow Tawdra on twitter and her blog, Publishing Quest

Pet Peeves, What are yours?

I've recently realized that I have a lot of pet peeves. I wonder if it means I'm excessively cranky or if those around me are just annoying?
Okay, those I surround myself with are wonderful. If they do something annoying I nip it in the bud right away if they want to remain around me. Example, my friends can not scrap their teeth on their forks. It absolutely drives me INSANE! Same with not picking their feet up when they walk. If my husband wishes to annoy me, he pops in a piece of gum and chases me around the house smacking. Blah... That also goes for food too. I think people who eat like cows or slurp their drinks are disgusting.

Yes, I know I have issues but I know there are more like me out there. What drives you insane?

Smoothie for Mommy

Simply Smart® Groundstroke Smoothie from Tennis Pro Chrissie Evert
Makes 1 serving
1 Tbsp warm water
1 tsp decaffeinated instant coffee granules
1 cup Simply Smart® Chocolate Fat Free Milk
2 Simply Smart® Chocolate Fat Free Milk ice cubes or regular ice cubes

I was given the chance to try some Hood Simply Smart milk and this is the recipe I tried. It was delicious and far healthier than Starbucks and McDonald's coffee drinks. The Fat Free milk also doesn't taste like fat free milk. It's rich and creamy! 
You can find more Hood Simply Smart Recipes Here

Walgreen's Money Maker!

Nivea Mens Body Wash is $5.99 this week and is giving back a $6RR at Walgreens. Well we discovered this morning early that the Active3 Bottle with Light Blue lettering is also ringing up BOGO!!!

So that means if you have 2 ($3/1)coupons (and your walgreens will let you use two coupons on a BOGO deal) you can get two bottles for FREE, pay the tax and then get a $6RR, which essentially is a $6 Money Maker!!!

Walgreens Deals at WUC