Squidoo Hopping--"non-commercializing"

It's been awhile since I've been working in squidoo like I really should be, but there are so many changes going on!

Tell me if I am missing any:
1.  They want us to make our lenses not so commercial and more personal.
2.  We can only squid like up to 10 lenses per day.
3.  Angels can only bless up to 5 lenses per day, but no lens can receive more than 5 blessings total.

Then, last night the first lens I went to update, right towards the top, they are encouraging me to add an amazon module.  Oh boy, talk about confusing!  I clicked the link to see "what's this?"   So, now they are saying that if there isn't an amazon module within the first 5 modules they are encouraging us to find products that have to do with our lens to add.    Isn't that kind of going against what they are wishing on the being less commercial??

The lens I happened to be updating was my lensography, which only had a few sales things in it.  Instead, it's full of photos of my family, and then links to my directories of lenses by category.  Right under their amazon note though, I had put in a t-shirt from zazzle that says Marsha Marsha Marsha.  I guess they are only concerned about amazon.
I did go ahead and find something----yellow things, since that is my favorite color and about me.   I will link it up in the linky this week and I hope you will let me know if having that amazon in there is alright.

The other lens that I totally re-did, needed to be fixed for a long time now.  It is called Anime Fun and I built is back in 2008 for my daughter.   I had used a bunch of the anime pictures she had saved to my computer.  She had gotten them from one of the photo sharing websites.  Of course I learned long ago that just because that website says that anything you share there is open for others to take, that wasn't really the case.
I'd just put off updating the lens knowing the time it would take to do so.
Anyway......I just deleted about 10 of the pictures, but replaced all the others with posters from all posters.  Above a couple of the posters I put in a personal note with a link to another of my lenses.  I added a black box with a link to the anime that is currently her favorite.  I also changed the intro photo to a drawing that my daughter recently did.
But.......I do have a concern that with me switching it to so many posters that it's still going to be considered to be too commercial.     I am also listing it in the linky and hope that you will let me know what you think.

For this week, I hope you will share in the linky 1 or 2 of the lenses that you have recently updated to comply with their being less commercial wish!!   Also, please any blog posts you have written that pertain to squidoo at all.

Thanks!
 

Frugal Friday With Marsha 3/22/13

It's Friday already??  This week hasn't been near as busy as last week, but there were a few things thrown into my schedule that I didn't expect.  
Again the paycheck didn't last the week----here's your shopping tip for this week:  Don't send your hubby to the store!   Wait, I think I've warned you about that before.
I did just that Saturday evening because I was working the whole day at our church helping with pictures for the church directory.
He picked nutrionally (sort of)--pigs in the blanket made with turkey hot dogs and reduced fat crescent rolls, pork and beans, low fat cottage cheese and sugar free peach slices.  However, other than a gallon of milk, that is all he bought.
Again, I called him at work and asked him to pick up a few things on his way home---he came home with nothing.  There wasn't enough left in his account to pay for the groceries!  Thankfully we still had enough supper type foods to make it through the week from my stockpile.  In fact, we still have a few meals worth.  It is nice to know that some of my massive coupon shopping of the past has paid off.

So......this week, I am going to ask that you comment with suggestions on how I can get hubby to stop over spending and to actually keep track of his checking account!!   I have already had him sign up for an online account, the problem is that he checks and sees there is a balance and spends.  He doesn't keep in mind the things that I have told him will be coming out automatically.  We've had $90 is overdraft fees this month and that could have been a LOT of groceries!  HELP!!!  (Admittedly, this taking the mom's out to eat on Friday nights has been a mutual decision and an expense we really can't afford.  I'm rethinking how we had went to it before, which was me doing all the work and having them to our house for supper)

This week I got in a few freebies:  Soft Scrub Advanced to try and review,  Dial Kids Hair and Body wash to try and review, sample of Tide togo stain eraser, shampoo and conditioner samples and several magazines from free subscriptions.  

Your turn!  Share away please.

 

Purex plus Fabric Softener with Crystals Fragrance Review and Giveaway!

I was excited to get the chance to try Purex's newest detergent.   Detergent plus fabric softener and the Crystals fragrance all in one!  How could I ask for more?  I love using the Crystals in with my laundry.

With the Purex plus Fabric Softener with Crystals you don't have to buy any additional laundry products.   You can still use the Crystals in addition to this detergent for an even more long-lasting fragrance.    Same price, same Purex value, same Purex effectiveness that we've all grown to love.

As of this year, 2013, all Purex detergents contain Dirt Lifting Action as well.

As stated, I've always liked adding the Crystals to my wash.  I love that the fragrance sticks with the clothing, but I especially love it for my bedding.  What I found is the Crystals fragrance in the detergent is not as strong as in the Crystals themselves, but it's still a nice fragrance.  I'm finding the fabric softener in the detergent to be more than effective.  The clothes are not coming out of the dryer with static at all.

You can find the new Purex plus Fabric Softener with Crystals Fragrance at your local Walmart, Target, Kroger and other Purex retailers. 

Would you like your chance to win one of 3 free coupons and try it yourself?  Just enter using the rafflecopter below. 



a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: The Purex brand provided me with a bottle of Purex detergent plus Fabric Softener with Crystals Fragrance in exchange for a product review. Coupons for the giveaway are provided to me by Purex. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions in my post are my own.

Squidoo Hopping---Children

Again I have to apologize for missing last week!  I had to drive out of town and pick up my middle daughter and bring her to town for her sonogram.  She's having a boy!

With children on my mind, that is why I am making this week's theme children.  Please share with us 1 or 2 of your lenses having anything to do with children.
Don't forget that if you have blogged recently about squidoo to also link those posts up as well!

 

Kroger CARBmaster and Greek and Greek Lite Yogurts!

As a bzzagent I have had the opportunity to give Kroger's CARBmaster and Greek Yogurts a try.

First let me tell you a little about them.

The CARBmaster yogurts are low carb and high protein. It's also comes in milk, which is a low carb, high protein drink and cultured dairy blend.

The Greek and Greek Lite yogurts are incredibly rich & smooth and have twice the protein as regular yogurt. Grrek yogurts have less lactose, half the refined sugar and are made with Stevia and real fruit. The Greek lite has 16 grams of protein and only 90 calories!


What did I think of them? I didn't actually try the CARBmaster yogurts. I let my daughter eat those as they go perfectly with the new meal plan she is using with her exercise program. She said she could taste an artificial sweetener taste in them, otherwise they were fine. I do plan on buying her more.

I've never been a fan of Greek yogurt as I've never liked the thick texture of it. A friend suggested that I use it as a fruit dip. I did just that and it was wonderful! Yes, I will be buying myself more just for dipping my fruit in. I like that I am getting the extra protein along with my fruit.

Disclaimer: I rec'd coupons and a gift card to buy the yogurts from bzzagent.com. I was not compensated in any other ways and any other opinions are my own. Other information was provided to me in my campaign kit.

Frugal Friday With Marsha--Linky Party

This has been my go go go, and go some more week!  It doesn't stop until Saturday is over.

My middle daughter recently moved to a town about 30 minutes from our house.  She has been reading up on making a compost pile.  She told me she had started a compost box.  I figured it was for their house, since they did ask the landlord if they could put in a small garden.  Nope, she sent the box of foods and such home with me one of the days that I went to take her to her OB appts.     I got it all mixed in with what was already in my pile as well as added some more dirt and some of the dried weeds from my garden area.    I'm still not having any luck getting the pile to compost, but I am trying!

We didn't grocery shop this week at all except to buy a couple gallons of milk and our Dr. Pepper that was on sale and that I had coupons for.  
We had taken our moms out last Friday evening (which isn't frugal--I may need to break down and start serving them at our house again to save money)  We also had a fundraising supper at our church Saturday evening.   The rest of the week though, we were able to eat well still from my stockpile from previous shopping.

I want to remind you of the 2 giveaways I currently have going:

Soft Scrub Total All Purpose Cleanser Review, Sweepstakes and Giveaway!

History Channel's The Bible Series--Including Companion Book Giveaway!

They both end Sunday night at 11:59 EST and both have very low entries!   Free is frugal.  I will be having more giveaways coming soon.

Time to link up for the week!

 

 

 

Soft Scrub Total All Purpose Cleanser Review, Sweepstakes and Giveaway!

First let's talk about

The Soft Scrub One Surface at A Time Sweepstakes

Sweepstakes is open to residents of the United States who are 18 years of age or older only and ends March 22, 2013.  

Prizes include a grand prize of  $1000 and a 1 year supply of Soft Scrub coupons and 250 winners of a free coupon for Soft Scrub.

Enter today  :)

My review:

I am totally in love with the Soft Scrub Total All Purpose Cleanser!   

I have bad elbows, wrists and shoulders, so it's very hard for me to put any "elbow grease" into cleaning.   With the Soft Scrub Total All Purpose Cleanser I did not have to scrub at all.   I squirted a bit on the stove:

 I got my rag and just started wiping.  Amazing how easily the grease and grime came off of my stove.  I've had stuff stuck on the black parts that I wasn't able to even get off with a metal scrubber.  It all came right off with the Soft Scrub.

Yes!  I will be buying more!

Here is the stove after:

Now on to the giveaway!

Three (3) lucky blog readers will win a free coupon for ANY Soft Scrub product up to $3.39 and have their chance to try this amazing product.  Just enter using the rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclaimer: Soft Scrub provided me with a bottle of Soft Scrub Total All Purpose Cleanser for the purpose of this post and review. Coupons for winners are also provided by Soft Scrub. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions are my own.

Morning Star Farms Burgers--Review #GotItFree

When the Morning Star Veggie Burger campaign came up with bzzagent.com, I looked forward to taking part. Although we are not vegetarians here, I have always wanted to know what the burgers tasted like.

My kit contained a coupon for a free box for the purpose of me trying them and spreading the word. I chose Spicy Black Bean burgers.

As I said, we are not vegetarians, in fact, my husband is a real "meat and potatoes" man. When I showed him the box of veggie burgers, he actually rolled his eyes at me.
I procrastinated on actually trying them due to him giving me that look every time I brought them up.

Finally one night I didn't say anything, I just proceeded to cook them. The Morningstar Farms burgers are really easy and quick to fix---just a few minutes on each side and they are done.
I started cooking them and soon hubby was in the kitchen to see what I was cooking that smelled so good! I told him the veggie burgers and he didn't argue, just said how good they smelled.

Here are a couple of photos I took--one of hubby fixing his spicy black bean burger up and the other of my daughter getting ready to eat hers.


There were 3 of us eating and 4 burgers in the box. I let hubby and my daughter "fight" over who got the second one. My daughter won. I'm really glad that I chose the Spicy Black Bean variety. There were actually whole black beans and whole kernels of corn in each one. With 11 grams of protein per serving, they are a great source!

Will we try any of the other flavors? I think my daughter and I will, but we won't push it on hubby :)


Disclaimer: I rec'd a free coupon from bzzagent.com to try Morning Star Farms. I was not compensated in any other way and all opinions are my own.

Squidoo Hopping--March In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

Here it is the first Thursday in March.  So far here in Kansas, March has come in like a lion with winds that are still keeping the temps down.  Since Easter is March 31, I do hope it goes out like a lamb as the saying goes.  :)

I thought it would be fun for this week's theme to be March.  Link up 1 or 2 of your lenses that have anything to do with March, whether it's a day, a holiday, and event, about Spring, etc.

 

WIP Wednesday 3/6/13

It's been a few weeks since I've posted anything---so long that I don't remember what I last posted!  Ok, I went and looked and it's been a full month since I've actually done a WIP Wednesday post!  I have been taking photos throughout the weeks though with good intentions of doing a post, so let's play catch up this week for the past month!

 This is my challenge quilt progress for guild so far.  I am ready for the top stitching.

February's sewing club meeting at church.  I have no finally finished all of the half square triangles for the quilt top.  We meet again next week so hopefully I can get a lot of the blocks put together for my new photo.

Last post I linked to my before photos, but this is my craft room now.  Yes, I do still have 2 totes and 2 boxes to go through....the shelf in the last photo I didn't do anything with, as well as the shelves on the wall.  However, it's so much more pleasant to go into my room now and actually work.

Lastly, I've been working like crazy when I can crocheting cotton bath puffs.  15 of them are for an order, then I will start posting them in my etsy shop.  I took this photo a couple of days ago, so I have completed a few more since then.  Crocheting these is mostly my late night work.

Hopefully I can find the time to get a lot done this week.  It's been crazy with 2 winter storms and moving my middle daughter and her family from one town to our house, and then 5 days later to another town!

I am linking up with the following blogs: