God likes Boggle

So Anna and Brian have recently taken up playing Boggle in the evenings together.  Anna's getting pretty good at it, finding some words we don't see upon occasion (air and coin were her biggest finds last week) and as she has B's logical mathematical brain, I'm sure she'll be beating my pants off soon.  This is the EXACT reason why I don't like to play Boggle with Brian b/c he ALWAYS beats me.

Anyway, here's a pic of one of their recent Boggle shakes . . . we were amazed to see the words God, Lord, Quit, Sin, and Self on the board.  This has serious potential to become an internet forward but I'm going to resist and only post it here.  I PROMISE we did not arrange the letters or anything like that.  This is simply what came out.

The Queen of Free

So I know what you're thinking . . . just when we get used to Cherie posting on a regular basis, she disappears into nothingness.  And while you had braced yourself for me to be gone for two years (or at least two months), I have good news!  I have launched a new blog - www.queenoffree.blogspot.com where you can continue to check out the latest and greatest freebies.  I am aiming to post a new one everyday.  I am hoping to collect a little do-re-mi off my google ads, so tell all of your friends, visit often, and click an ad or two if the product interests you!  :)

I do plan to continue to post on here from time to time with pics of the girls and updates on the Lowes, A-Z.  So don't take me off your blogroll just yet!  But do visit Queen of Free every day!

Everyone Needs it Freebie

Or at least I hope everyone needs it, uses it, etc.  So you need to directly click over here to Walmart's Free Samples and get yourself a free roll of toilet paper (supplies are limited so HURRY!).  Who wouldn't want to save a few pennies on something essential like this?  And since it's a whole roll and not just a little packet of TP, it's well worth a few seconds of your day!  If you're picky when it comes to your brands, this a quality one, Scott Extra Soft which is also a Box Tops for Education participant so a highly rated product in our household.  Now even if you don't use it for it's proper function, the fall season will be upon us soon and you can use it to *ahem* decorate your neighbor's yard.  If you liked today's freebie, leave me me a little comment love.  I'd like to know who's out there reading!

FREE MONEY MONDAY

Ok, so it's not really currency that you can spend, but today's freebie is kind of/sort of money!  Let's say your dog has eaten all of your Monopoly money OR your school aged kid has gotten turned on to origami and all of your $500 bills have mysteriously transformed into flying birds, what's a board game lover to do?  Well, you can turn to this site and print your own money!  For some reason, it won't let me link it directly, so scroll down and click on the yellow Monopoly card and find handy dandy pdf files for $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100, and $500 dollar bills.  

Enjoy!

Free Chicken Sandwich

Today's freebie in honor of the commercial that makes me laugh the hardest during the Olympics is for a Free McDonalds Chicken Biscuit.  I'm loving the commercial that features world class athletes saying how early you have to get up in the morning to be in training AND to eat a sandwich laden with fat and nastiness.  I've had one of these and they're ok . . . no where near as good as the Chickfila Chicken Biscuit (which according to my husband will be running a BOGO sort of deal this month in our area).  And oh by the way not so great for your health.  I do NOT give it the CLowe stamp of approval for increasing your level of health.  Just to note, this is not a free freebie.  You must purchase a drink in order to get the free sandwich which is my book is not a true freebie, but if it works for you, go for the gold.

NOTE: You need to click on Get Free Offer and fill out a short form to get the free sandwich.  They won't just hand one to you an it looks like they might give you one of the lunch sandwiches instead if you don't get up pretty early.

Back to School Coffee

So today's back to school freebie is not for your average first grader.  I'm thinking more along the lines of your all nighter pulling college students or maybe the worn out mommy of a first grader.  

I first had Seattle's Best Coffee about 11 years ago when I visited my brother in you guessed it . . . Seattle.  I remember thinking it was a better taste than Starbucks (even though I am a HUGE bucks fan!).  

This sample is linked out from a site called "Start Sampling."  An excellent place where you can find freebies on your own without my help.  I just bring the very best ones to you and save you a little leg work and hopefully provide a brief moment of brevity along with your freebie link.  :)  I've gotten a few of these samples before.  They are a great size to give you a taste of the coffee (makes 2 pots for us) OR wonderful for a gift basket or care package.  

Bottoms up!

Keep It Clean, Folks

Ok folks, here's today's freebie . . . kind of another back to school one.  Everyone needs clean clothes when they go back to school and to get that, why not try out Tide Total Care free from Walmart?  Just a reminder that Walmart's (ever hear Walmart referred to Walmarts?  Drives me nuts!) samples are fantastic, come quickly and always a good bet.  While you're on the Walmart site, check out what else is available - there are usually 5-7 samples.  Look for the tab that says "In Stores Now" and then scroll to Free samples and trials.

Speaking of Back to School, here's a picture of Anna on her first day of first grade!

Back to School Freebie

So today's freebie, in honor of all those students returning to the classroom this week, is a pack of free post-it notes from 3M.  3M usually has great freebies.  They are a little on the smaller size (for instance this one is for a 4 x 6 pack of 10 post its made from recycled paper . . . post-it flashback . . . I just thought of Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion) but they are always first class and occasionally you hit the jackpot.  I once got a little hard backed note book with pen which was way cute!  Stay tuned this week for back to school goodies and teacher freebies.  You too can have stocked cabinets of free office products in your home!

House Par-tay

So my newest fun find on the internet with the potential fun free stuff is www.houseparty.com.  It's a site where you can test market new products by throwing a party in your home.  The products vary from new tv shows before they release to food items like candy or Grey Poupon.  Obviously, anything baby related catches my eye right now and there have been a few of those, too.  In particular Gerber and Pampers have had parties up this summer.  

But I am overjoyed that I was selected to have a House Party for Fisher Price this September.  I get to gather girlfriends together and test some new baby toys for infants aged 6 months - 36 months.  NO purchases, no pressure, just a chance to look at new toys AND the best thing of all is that I get to give away ten smaller toys and keep three large ones for Zoe!  YIPEEE!

Here's one of the larger ones, the Amazing Animals Spinning Zoo.

Next we have the FP Laugh and Learn Fun with Friends Musical Table.  The legs come off and it can sit flat on the floor, too.

Best of all is the Laugh & Learn Smart Bounce Pony which looks way cool - not only a riding toy but interactive with the tv, too!  

Tomorrow, I'll post pics of the toys that I'll be giving away to my guests.  There will also be coupons for great FP products.  Woohoo, it can't come soon enough!  So two thumbs up for houseparty.com from this gal.  Check it out for yourself, but don't forget to invite me to your party if you land one!

Testing 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . .

So I'm not sure anyone is really out there any more since I post so infrequently.  I am changing direction and trying to post something small every day.  We'll see if it works!  Anyway many of you know that I am addicted to getting something for nothing . . . I am the self proclaimed Queen of Free!  

Here's the freebie of the day from Walmart.  Walmart has great free samples which come quickly through the mail.  No 4-6 weeks of waiting there!  They change over their products on a consistent basis and you can depend on them not selling or giving your information to spam sites.  Today's freebie is an Orville Redenbacher Popcorn Cake snack.  I can't testify to its nutritional content because I haven't seen the fact label.  Happy Freebie.  By the way, I must take this moment to help you remember that ole Orville hails from Indiana (Brazil, specifically for those fans of the Wabash Valley) so he was a fellow Hoosier.

Hooked

So I have a bit more "at home" time on my hands with a newborn and the fact that I am still on meds from the C-section (I haven't had any today yet so that's a good sign!). I had seen a series of CDs before I was even pregnant with Zoe that I was interested in called "Rockabye Baby" This record label has taken classic hits from classic rock and punk bands and transformed them into lullaby music. From Nirvana, Metallica, AC/DC, Bob Marley, The Eagles, Radiohead, Tool, Nine Inch Nails to the Beach Boys, the Beatles, the Ramones, U2, No Doubt, Green Day and more a lot of fantastic bands are covered.  To most it might sound a bit annoying but compared to Baby Einstein this stuff is glorious, I say, glorious. I just spent a little time and money on iTunes (making good on those gift cards my hubby got me for Christmas) buying a few tracks. I got "Clocks" from Coldplay, "Basketcase" from Green Day, "Don't Speak" by No Doubt, "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles, and "God Only Knows" by the Beach Boys all remade into this lullaby format.  Check out the link but if you're going to buy the music, I suggest iTunes as it's cheaper on there.  :)

Pictures of Zoe

I think that you can go to this link and view my Facebook album of Zoe (even if you don't have a Facebook account. Let me know if you can view them if you don't have an account. In the meantime here are a few pictures to hold you over. :)

Could not be more excited about a movie . . .

KidStuf turns 1!

Many of you know that I've been busy leading a ministry called KidStuf this past year. Today we celebrated our first birthday and had a big 'ole birthday bash complete with cake, party favors, hats, and more. A fantastically talented fella at church put together a video of some of our "greatest" hits from the last year. Here it is . .

A little fun

Been a long time . . .

So nothing like 6 months of blogging absence to bring a girl back on the scene.  Oops, sorry.  Shortly after the RAIN ride, we found out that I was actually 4-5 weeks pregnant when I trucked across the state.  We're working on the urban legend to make it sound like I was closer to 7 months pregnant and rode 160 miles across the state.  Makes me sound a little bit tougher.  :)

Anyway, recently my fitness routine has been on hiatus as I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions @ 7 PM if I'm not laying down on the couch.  So I got a strongly worded reprimand from the nurse practitioner on Thursday of last week to rest as much as possible.  I'm obeying to the best of my ability.

So as I'm dreaming of doing a 5K this coming summer, I'm reading a few new favorite fitness blogs.  Here are my picks for the new year if you're looking to be a fitter you.

• Fit Sugar
• That's Fit
• LIFT

The best Fit Sugar article 'o the day is this one about the passing of Tony the Tiger due to complications from Type 2 Diabetes.  Enjoy the sites.