Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #79

Hello, hello! I'm so happy that you're here :)

Next week will be conference week between teachers and parents and since Princess One has the same teacher again, I'm sure that college preparation will surface out in our conversation - how competitive it is to get in, how expensive it can be and how well-rounded the kid should be to be accepted, etc. For some reason, this pattern of thought was disrupted when I came across this book through research called Be Centsable.

I was intrigued so I borrowed this book in our library and lo and behold! I became a couponing convert. Researching for scholarship led me to this and I thought, "Hm... Couponing my kids' way to college! Sounds good to me."

Ok, I can't articulate yet the intimate connection between the two but after 2 weeks of couponing, I now believe in its power to reduce expenses. True, it costs time, but the payoff is more organized grocery shopping experience because my visits are governed by sale items and coupons that match our needs. Initially, I believed that couponing is not worth the time compared to the savings so I went on my merry ways of shopping wholesale at Costco for our provisions. When I sat down and really broke down the cost per oz of our oft-bought items, I discovered that without coupons, Costco prices are already lower compared to grocery stores BUT with sales, plus manufacturer's coupons, and store coupons, you can get rock bottom deals, and might even get for free. The writers of Be Centsable also have a website called becentsable.net that I check regularly for deals, the coupons you can use and where to find those coupons. If you are interested, you can check their post about CVS deals for the week here to see what I mean.

So I'm interested to hear what you have to say. Do you use coupons in grocery shopping?

Favorite Blog
You clicked, inlinkz tallied. The readers' favorite blog post this past week, being the most viewed post, is Penny's vintage treasures. She really scored big on her finds.

Our Party
To the main course of this post.
For those of you joining us for the first time, we only have 2 easy, simple rules:

1) Link up your creative post - can be a DIY project, decor, photography, crafts, recipes, poem, thrift finds, link party, or that informative syndicated post that can make us laugh, or cry - in short, whatever you're proud of! And if you like to link more creative posts, go for it! We'd love to see them :) (No links to businesses or giveaways. We have another party for these exclusively every Tuesday called Market Your Biz & Giveaways at 5 pm, PST.)

2) Follow as many blogs as you desire, either via Google Friend Connect or Linky Followers, preferably starting first with the one who linked before you and after you, before branching out, and let them know by leaving a comment. (Following me will be very much appreciated, and I definitely follow back. Just let me know you're following.)

Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated :) It will help you remember to come back and link up to the the happiest blog party on the block (ahem!). It will also help others find their way to the party which we all love because the more the merrier :)

Link opens up every Sunday at 5:00 pm, PST and ends Friday at 11:59 pm.


<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/creativeblogbuttonjpg.jpg" /></a></center>
Friends, go ahead and get to know each :) One followed blogger is one gained friend. And please, don't forget to join my Market Your Biz and Giveaways blog party every Tuesday at 5 pm, PST. It's your chance for free promotion of your family-friendly business and giveaways.

Now, let's party like no other!

Burning question:
Are you the couponing type?

Market Your Biz and Giveaways #68

Welcome to Market Your Biz and Giveaways, my dear friends! Come on in and link up your family-friendly online businesses and giveaways. It has been long said that businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. Not only that, businesses really fuel the economy. This blog party, solely dedicated to promoting businesses and giveaways, is my way of giving back to the community so welcome to Market Your Biz & Giveaways!

Gina, (who by the way, already guest posted in my Blogging for Dollars Series) from the Shabby Creek Cottage said it best, "You may not get a sale directly from that site every single day – but you are building brand recognition. Pepsi does not advertise so that you stop what you’re doing and go directly to buy a drink – but when you do need to quench your thirst and you are shopping for a drink, Pepsi is going to be recognizable to you. Bottom line, you need to build your brand!" This blog party helps you accomplish build your brand.

Business owners, we wanna see your products. Giveaways are good because they create a buzz about your business. Giveaway hosts, we wanna join! Readers, here's your chance to win fabulous freebies. So come on in and participate in this virtual marketplace.

Featured Biz

Our featured biz today is You-Lee-Ana Boutique, specializing in eco-handmade knitwear.

This Summer Coral Crochet Chain Necklace is a unique way to accessorize your plain white clothes.

This crocheted flower clip/barrette in ivory and mint button is a fun way to fix your little one's hair.

Our Party

Just link up your etsy and/or family-friendly business on the first link provided, browse other businesses before you and after you. It's a great way to network with other business owners. For the giveaways, same thing. Just link up on the second link provided your giveaways and join the other giveaways that catch your eye. If you have a creative post and you want to increase your followers, the appropriate blog party for that is called Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop.

Link opens every Tuesday, 5:00 pm, PST and ends Saturday, 11:59 pm.

Here's the party button. Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated! For one, it will help you to remember to come back here next week. Secondly, we want to spread the word about businesses and giveaways so many can join in. Mentioning it on Twitter and Facebook will also make you totally awesome :)



<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/MYBG1-3-2-1.jpg" /></a></center>

Friends, network, buy if you must, join the giveaways, and have fun!

PS: I'm not a blog police but in the name of order and organization, you'll be my bloggy BFF if you link up in the appropriate links :D Please note that there are two links. Here's the link for your businesses. There's a second link below specifically for giveaways so how about linking up your giveaways in there? Besides, it's easier to find and join your giveaways if they're in the appropriate link. If you accidentally linked up in the wrong spot, don't fret. Just click the red x before your link to delete it, then link up in the correct spot.

Link Up Your Family-friendly Businesses Here

Link Up Your Giveaways Here
To bring maximum exposure for your giveaways, I'm collaborating with Brynn from MommyDigger so please feel free to link up your giveaways, too, in her party every Wednesday.

Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #78

Hello, my dear friends! I hope that your week is going great.

I love attending baby showers and luckily, we were able to attend one yesterday. My friend R is having her 3rd baby and what better way to decorate than to make, not just one, but three diaper cakes? We were all feeling the love and generosity from the organizers of the baby shower that everybody was in a party and giving mood.

The highlight for me, in addition to the yummy food, sweet camaraderie, and tons of gifts to R, is this diaper milkshake gift. I'm sure you're excited to know the "ingredients". Each cup is made up of pink wash cloth, white onesie, diaper, straw, and a little pink pom pom (or those crafty balls for kids) as a topping, plastic cups, and cups holder. How creative is that? My friend A came up with this great idea that she found at here and everybody was amazed at the simplicity but full-of-impact project.

My friend R is really relishing this delightful gift.

How about you? Any striking baby shower gift that you have seen lately?

Favorite Blog
You clicked, inlinkz tallied. The readers' favorite blog post this past week, being the most viewed post, is A New Old Chair by Dixie Delights. When you see the old look, you won't believe that it can be transformed to this lovely chair.

Our Party
To the main course of this post.
For those of you joining us for the first time, we only have 2 easy, simple rules:

1) Link up your creative post - can be a DIY project, decor, photography, crafts, recipes, poem, thrift finds, link party, or that informative syndicated post that can make us laugh, or cry - in short, whatever you're proud of! And if you like to link more creative posts, go for it! We'd love to see them :) (No links to businesses or giveaways. We have another party for these exclusively every Tuesday called Market Your Biz & Giveaways at 5 pm, PST.)

2) Follow as many blogs as you desire, either via Google Friend Connect or Linky Followers, preferably starting first with the one who linked before you and after you, before branching out, and let them know by leaving a comment. (Following me will be very much appreciated, and I definitely follow back. Just let me know you're following.)

Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated :) It will help you remember to come back and link up to the the happiest blog party on the block (ahem!). It will also help others find their way to the party which we all love because the more the merrier :)

Link opens up every Sunday at 5:00 pm, PST and ends Friday at 11:59 pm.


<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/creativeblogbuttonjpg.jpg" /></a></center>
Friends, go ahead and get to know each :) One followed blogger is one gained friend. And please, don't forget to join my Market Your Biz and Giveaways blog party every Tuesday at 5 pm, PST. It's your chance for free promotion of your family-friendly business and giveaways.

Now, let's party like no other!

Burning question:
Can you share any striking baby shower gift you have seen lately?

Market Your Biz and Giveaways #67

Welcome to Market Your Biz and Giveaways, my dear friends! Come on in and link up your family-friendly online businesses and giveaways. It has been long said that businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. Not only that, businesses really fuel the economy. This blog party, solely dedicated to promoting businesses and giveaways, is my way of giving back to the community so welcome to Market Your Biz & Giveaways!

Gina, (who by the way, already guest posted in my Blogging for Dollars Series) from the Shabby Creek Cottage said it best, "You may not get a sale directly from that site every single day – but you are building brand recognition. Pepsi does not advertise so that you stop what you’re doing and go directly to buy a drink – but when you do need to quench your thirst and you are shopping for a drink, Pepsi is going to be recognizable to you. Bottom line, you need to build your brand!" This blog party helps you accomplish build your brand.

Business owners, we wanna see your products. Giveaways are good because they create a buzz about your business. Giveaway hosts, we wanna join! Readers, here's your chance to win fabulous freebies. So come on in and participate in this virtual marketplace.

Featured Biz

Our featured biz today is Alderberry Hill Shop.

Since Halloween is associated with the Fall season, you might want to check her two cool Halloween Glass Block with Lights pictured below.

Our Party

Just link up your etsy and/or family-friendly business on the first link provided, browse other businesses before you and after you. It's a great way to network with other business owners. For the giveaways, same thing. Just link up on the second link provided your giveaways and join the other giveaways that catch your eye. If you have a creative post and you want to increase your followers, the appropriate blog party for that is called Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop.

Link opens every Tuesday, 5:00 pm, PST and ends Saturday, 11:59 pm.

Here's the party button. Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated! For one, it will help you to remember to come back here next week. Secondly, we want to spread the word about businesses and giveaways so many can join in. Mentioning it on Twitter and Facebook will also make you totally awesome :)



<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/MYBG1-3-2-1.jpg" /></a></center>

Friends, network, buy if you must, join the giveaways, and have fun!

PS: I'm not a blog police but in the name of order and organization, you'll be my bloggy BFF if you link up in the appropriate links :D Please note that there are two links. Here's the link for your businesses. There's a second link below specifically for giveaways so how about linking up your giveaways in there? Besides, it's easier to find and join your giveaways if they're in the appropriate link. If you accidentally linked up in the wrong spot, don't fret. Just click the red x before your link to delete it, then link up in the correct spot.

Link Up Your Family-friendly Businesses Here

Link Up Your Giveaways Here
To bring maximum exposure for your giveaways, I'm collaborating with Brynn from MommyDigger so please feel free to link up your giveaways, too, in her party every Wednesday.

Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #77

Happy Sunday, my dear friends! So glad you came here to join us :)

Pre-order for that iconic iPhone 5 started last Friday so guess who went at the AT&T store on that day? (cough...cough) I went there with hubby because he's like a kid who was so excited for the release of his long-awaited new toy. He has been on the lookout since January this year and when the day finally came, he can't contain his enthusiasm anymore. We went to AT&T with the intent of transferring our cell phone subscription to AT&T after more than 2 years of stay with T-Mobile.

It's really a great idea to have done your homework before buying cell phones and signing up for a wireless plan. When we went to AT&T, this sales associate started offering us the high end part of the wireless plan which I already knew won't make sense for the family. He was trying to convince us that we're already saving a bunch of money if we sign up for $230 a month payment(?!) just for cell phone service. My goodness! That's definitely not gonna happen. He was really buttering us up and was following the playbook of a true salesman. Since we've done our research already, we had to steer him back to what we really want and need, and that is one cell phone with data plan for hubby, and 3 phones with texting capability only - no data plan. But he was insistent on the iPhone 4 that they're selling for only 99 cents, with the condition of signing up for data plan for 2 years. Good thing that hubby and I speak fluent Tagalog (Filipino language) so whenever my husband and I get in the negotiation process whether buying a car, or signing up for wireless plan, or anything that involves a major purchase, we can bounce off to each other on the spot by switching to our language (with the courtesy of notifying the salesman, of course). To cut the story short, we ended up getting hubby's iPhone 5 thru that salesman, and after our analysis during our back and forth exchange in Tagalog, we realized that we can save more if we go the Costco route, which we did, for the other phones. Thank goodness for having another language aside from English. It gives my husband and I instant privacy to analyze the situation and make the most economical and best choice in a given time.

How about you? Do you speak another language besides English?

Favorite Blog
You clicked, inlinkz tallied. The readers' favorite blog post this past week, being the most viewed post, is Saturday Finds! by Penny. She got this beautiful piece of stained glass at the auction for only $15 - what a steal!

Blog Tip: Lilyfield Life has a great tip about SEO which she titled How does your blog appear in a google search? It's worth reading to see how your blog stacks up among all other blogs.

Our Party
To the main course of this post.
For those of you joining us for the first time, we only have 2 easy, simple rules:

1) Link up your creative post - can be a DIY project, decor, photography, crafts, recipes, poem, thrift finds, link party, or that informative syndicated post that can make us laugh, or cry - in short, whatever you're proud of! And if you like to link more creative posts, go for it! We'd love to see them :) (No links to businesses or giveaways. We have another party for these exclusively every Tuesday called Market Your Biz & Giveaways at 5 pm, PST.)

2) Follow as many blogs as you desire, either via Google Friend Connect or Linky Followers, preferably starting first with the one who linked before you and after you, before branching out, and let them know by leaving a comment. (Following me will be very much appreciated, and I definitely follow back. Just let me know you're following.)

Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated :) It will help you remember to come back and link up to the the happiest blog party on the block (ahem!). It will also help others find their way to the party which we all love because the more the merrier :)

Link opens up every Sunday at 5:00 pm, PST and ends Friday at 11:59 pm.


<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/creativeblogbuttonjpg.jpg" /></a></center>
Friends, go ahead and get to know each :) One followed blogger is one gained friend. And please, don't forget to join my Market Your Biz and Giveaways blog party every Tuesday at 5 pm, PST. It's your chance for free promotion of your family-friendly business and giveaways.

Now, let's party like no other!

Burning question:
Do you speak another language besides English?

Market Your Biz and Giveaways #66

Welcome to Market Your Biz and Giveaways, my dear friends! Come on in and link up your family-friendly online businesses and giveaways. It has been long said that businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. Not only that, businesses really fuel the economy. This blog party, solely dedicated to promoting businesses and giveaways, is my way of giving back to the community so welcome to Market Your Biz & Giveaways!

Gina, (who by the way, already guest posted in my Blogging for Dollars Series) from the Shabby Creek Cottage said it best, "You may not get a sale directly from that site every single day – but you are building brand recognition. Pepsi does not advertise so that you stop what you’re doing and go directly to buy a drink – but when you do need to quench your thirst and you are shopping for a drink, Pepsi is going to be recognizable to you. Bottom line, you need to build your brand!" This blog party helps you accomplish build your brand.

Business owners, we wanna see your products. Giveaways are good because they create a buzz about your business. Giveaway hosts, we wanna join! Readers, here's your chance to win fabulous freebies. So come on in and participate in this virtual marketplace.

Featured Biz

Our featured biz today is CLEAR Wireless Internet, for the Home or On-the-Go.

Navigating and searching the Internet plan that meets our needs is a a challenging chore for me because of so many choices.

Right now that we're on the crossroads of choosing which provider to sign up for high speed internet deals , we're contemplating first if one of the plans meets our needs. We don't need online gaming that would require extensive speed , nor watch movie using the Internet. All we need is a way to check our emails, write my blog posts, hook up our iphones and tablet, and for Princess One to download/upload her homework to her school.

After we have checked which plan meets our needs, our second litmus test is if it's budget-friendly. True, many will offer rock-bottom deals for the first 6 months, but they want you to have a year's contract with them, and the moment the first 6 months of rock-bottom price expires, the company will recoup by charging you with an arm and a leg price. We're in the process of comparing one deal after another among the well-known Internet providers but since I came across CLEAR Wireless Internet, I thought it's worth a try - price-wise and plans-wise. If you're also on the lookout for deals, check out their promos and compare with your current Internet plans.

Our Party

Just link up your etsy and/or family-friendly business on the first link provided, browse other businesses before you and after you. It's a great way to network with other business owners. For the giveaways, same thing. Just link up on the second link provided your giveaways and join the other giveaways that catch your eye. If you have a creative post and you want to increase your followers, the appropriate blog party for that is called Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop.

Link opens every Tuesday, 5:00 pm, PST and ends Saturday, 11:59 pm.

Here's the party button. Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated! For one, it will help you to remember to come back here next week. Secondly, we want to spread the word about businesses and giveaways so many can join in. Mentioning it on Twitter and Facebook will also make you totally awesome :)



<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/MYBG1-3-2-1.jpg" /></a></center>

Friends, network, buy if you must, join the giveaways, and have fun!

PS: I'm not a blog police but in the name of order and organization, you'll be my bloggy BFF if you link up in the appropriate links :D Please note that there are two links. Here's the link for your businesses. There's a second link below specifically for giveaways so how about linking up your giveaways in there? Besides, it's easier to find and join your giveaways if they're in the appropriate link. If you accidentally linked up in the wrong spot, don't fret. Just click the red x before your link to delete it, then link up in the correct spot.

Link Up Your Family-friendly Businesses Here

Link Up Your Giveaways Here
To bring maximum exposure for your giveaways, I'm collaborating with Brynn from MommyDigger so please feel free to link up your giveaways, too, in her party every Wednesday.

Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop #76

Hello, there! Welcome to our party :) I really appreciate your link ups every week.

School commenced so our lives became doubly hectic again with Princess One going to 6th Grade and Princess Two attending Kindergarten.

One of the techniques I found to save more time is to have both girls sport short hair - it cuts the drying time of their hair in half. Since I want to save $17 for hair cut, I've designated myself as their hairdresser since last year. The first time I cut the girls' hair, I felt like it's such a daunting task because everything was crooked no matter how much I steadied my hand in cutting. (tip: at first, cut it 2 inches longer than desired length so in case you cut it way too much, there's still a room for correction.) Afterwards I worked the cuts in an inch by inch method to make the hair length even. Then I learned that when the hair is dry, that's when I can see more unevenness and so I set to do more cutting at the tips. I don't get to give the perfect haircuts to the girls and in my own personal biased opinion, neither to the hairdressers whom I paid to do so. As a result, doing so myself helps me save money and have the pride that it's not too late to learn a new skill.

How about you? Do you cut your own or kids hair? Please do share.

(Princess 2 in her Kindergarten line with new hair cut.)

Favorite Blog
You clicked, inlinkz tallied. The readers' favorite blog post this past week, being the most viewed post, is Sunday Finds by Poppi Linn. Her pretty pins and keys made my heart skip a beat! What a great timing for her to snag these :)

Our Party
To the main course of this post.
For those of you joining us for the first time, we only have 2 easy, simple rules:

1) Link up your creative post - can be a DIY project, decor, photography, crafts, recipes, poem, thrift finds, link party, or that informative syndicated post that can make us laugh, or cry - in short, whatever you're proud of! And if you like to link more creative posts, go for it! We'd love to see them :) (No links to businesses or giveaways. We have another party for these exclusively every Tuesday called Market Your Biz & Giveaways at 5 pm, PST.)

2) Follow as many blogs as you desire, either via Google Friend Connect or Linky Followers, preferably starting first with the one who linked before you and after you, before branching out, and let them know by leaving a comment. (Following me will be very much appreciated, and I definitely follow back. Just let me know you're following.)

Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated :) It will help you remember to come back and link up to the the happiest blog party on the block (ahem!). It will also help others find their way to the party which we all love because the more the merrier :)

Link opens up every Sunday at 5:00 pm, PST and ends Friday at 11:59 pm.


<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/creativeblogbuttonjpg.jpg" /></a></center>
Friends, go ahead and get to know each :) One followed blogger is one gained friend. And please, don't forget to join my Market Your Biz and Giveaways blog party every Tuesday at 5 pm, PST. It's your chance for free promotion of your family-friendly business and giveaways.

Now, let's party like no other!

Burning question:
How about you? Do you cut your own or kids hair? Please do share.

Market Your Biz and Giveaways #65

Welcome to Market Your Biz and Giveaways, my dear friends! Come on in and link up your family-friendly online businesses and giveaways. It has been long said that businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. Not only that, businesses really fuel the economy. This blog party, solely dedicated to promoting businesses and giveaways, is my way of giving back to the community so welcome to Market Your Biz & Giveaways!

Gina, (who by the way, already guest posted in my Blogging for Dollars Series) from the Shabby Creek Cottage said it best, "You may not get a sale directly from that site every single day – but you are building brand recognition. Pepsi does not advertise so that you stop what you’re doing and go directly to buy a drink – but when you do need to quench your thirst and you are shopping for a drink, Pepsi is going to be recognizable to you. Bottom line, you need to build your brand!" This blog party helps you accomplish build your brand.

Business owners, we wanna see your products. Giveaways are good because they create a buzz about your business. Giveaway hosts, we wanna join! Readers, here's your chance to win fabulous freebies. So come on in and participate in this virtual marketplace.

Featured Biz

Our featured biz today is DesignsAt35, funny, cute, silly, unique, high quality printables.

Below a perfect quote for lovers/soulmates with a colorful damask background. This listing is for a 8.5 by 11 inches pdf with a high resolution of 300 dpi. Comes in 5 colors and you get to choose your favorite one. The colors are blue green , green, blue , red and yellow.

Another printable that I think is hilarious is this Laundry Schedule in high quality 8 by 10 size printable in jpeg format.

Our Party

Just link up your etsy and/or family-friendly business on the first link provided, browse other businesses before you and after you. It's a great way to network with other business owners. For the giveaways, same thing. Just link up on the second link provided your giveaways and join the other giveaways that catch your eye. If you have a creative post and you want to increase your followers, the appropriate blog party for that is called Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop.

Link opens every Tuesday, 5:00 pm, PST and ends Saturday, 11:59 pm.

Here's the party button. Displaying the party button on your blog, while optional, is very much appreciated! For one, it will help you to remember to come back here next week. Secondly, we want to spread the word about businesses and giveaways so many can join in. Mentioning it on Twitter and Facebook will also make you totally awesome :)



<center><a href="http://www.homemakeronadime.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae194/homemakeronadime/MYBG1-3-2-1.jpg" /></a></center>

Friends, network, buy if you must, join the giveaways, and have fun!

PS: I'm not a blog police but in the name of order and organization, you'll be my bloggy BFF if you link up in the appropriate links :D Please note that there are two links. Here's the link for your businesses. There's a second link below specifically for giveaways so how about linking up your giveaways in there? Besides, it's easier to find and join your giveaways if they're in the appropriate link. If you accidentally linked up in the wrong spot, don't fret. Just click the red x before your link to delete it, then link up in the correct spot.

Link Up Your Family-friendly Businesses Here

Link Up Your Giveaways Here
To bring maximum exposure for your giveaways, I'm collaborating with Brynn from MommyDigger so please feel free to link up your giveaways, too, in her party every Wednesday.

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