The Frog That Lost His Croak by Anne Toole--Book Review

The Frog That Lost His Croak is such a cute book with vivid illustrations.

A little frog that loved to croak day and night, suddenly woke up one morning and his croak was gone.  While waiting and hoping for his croak to return, he learned some very valuable lessons along the way.

The book is geared towards  4 to 7 year olds, but the moral of the story is a good one for all ages---even adults.

Here is a picture of my almost 5 year old granddaughter, Zelda, enjoying the book:

The author, Anne Toole, graduated with a B.S. Degree in Elementary Education and taught 1st grade in Augusta, Georgia for 30 years.  She always enjoyed reading and writing poetry.   As a child she loved to listen to nursery rhymes and stories written in verse.  She used nursery rhymes and simple poems in her classroom to enhance the regular Language Arts curriculum.  After retiring, she started writing stories about children and animals, most of them in verse.

The Frog That Lost His Croak is written in verse with most every line rhyming.  I read the book out loud to both Zelda and her little brother, Killian, who is almost 3.  He really enjoyed the illustrations and I had to stop reading as he pointed to the pictures in the story as I was reading it--pointing to the snake, and the bees, and the ducks, etc.  It was so cute!

The book is 28 pages long and is sold though Amazon as well as Outskirts Press.  Maximum trade discount when ordering 10 or more copies through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  Also available in ebook form.  You can also visit the author's page at Outskirts Press.



Disclosure:  I was sent a copy of the book for the purpose of this review.  I was no compensated in any other way, and all opinions are my own.  Post does contain affiliate links.

Frugal Friday With Marsha--Week in Review

The days just fly by!  It's been a busy week as usual.  Of course, I would go stir crazy if I really had nothing to do.

I've been working more on the rug I wrote about in my WIP Wednesday post.  It's not going to get to 52 inches, but I am going to put these more strips in.  I will then contact the gal and see if she wants it the size it ends up.  If not, it will just go up for sale in my Etsy shop.

I was babysitting at my middle daughters last weekend and took this picture of her table and window of plants.  She is going to try to transplant today.  I gave up right away on my own garden.  I could give you 100 reasons why, but none of them are really good enough....although a lot of it is because my seeds didn't sprout at all.

I'm getting a little smarter.  I always get upset when I cant read at night when hubby is in the bed and I can't turn my light on.  I finally started opening up my Kindle app and reading books that way.   Right now I'm reading Pinch Like You Mean It 101 Ways to Save Right Now.
This one is FREE, so why not download it for yourself?  It's interesting and there are some good tips.  Most I already knew, some I hadn't thought of, and some that don't pertain to me at all, but still worth the read.



I received 2 items in (actually 3) this week for review that I will get written soon.  A children's book and 2 Disney Princess Crochet Kits.   I need to get pictures, and hopefully a start on one of the crochet kits.

I found a website that I hope to share with you in a post as well at a later date.  Just wish me luck there for now please.

Until next week, keep on saving!

WIP Wednesday --52 Inches

I received a message asking if I could make a rug 52 inches across.  I replied that I could.
Hhmmmm....what was I thinking??  Apparently I wasn't because I didn't wrap my mind around just how big a 52 inch across rug is!

I've worked on nothing else and here it is at just 24 of those 52 inches.

I am going to have to send a message to the gal and back out.  She offered me a price for it, which I thought I could do.  I'm seeing now that it may cost me pretty close to that for shipping alone.
I'm still going to work on this rug more until I get worked in the strips I have in front of me, then it will be listed in my etsy shop.

It's a new month, so I need to head over to the soscrappy blog and see what this month's color is.  Although I'm not linking up there, I am still adding her button to the bottom of this post.

I just got in 2 crochet kits for review, so it looks like crocheting is what I will be doing next before sewing....except for my sewing at sit n' sew this Friday.

UFO's:

Rectangle quilt
challenge wall hanging
Hexagon quilt
Emerald Island Fusique table runner
Five and Dime quilt
Brown half square triangle table runner
3 sets of doll blanket, pillows, bed and rug--plus more to sell
Wall hanging for quilt guild
yo-yo's that need to be made into projects
black and white rail fence quilt
Arkansas Crossroads scrap quilt
T-shirt latchhook rug
Rainbow colored locker hook rug
T-shirt toothbrush rug
Charming Stars quilt
Special crocheted prayer shawl
Fall Squares table topper

2016 Finishes:
Smaller pink 4 patch quilt for charity
Pink 4 patch quilt for charity
Hexagon flower table runner

I am linking up with the following blogs:
Brand New weekly linky by my friend Winona!  Please check it out.  **  http://adiyday.blogspot.com/2016/04/wip-wednesday-1.html  **

March 2016 Online Earnings

Earnings are supposed to be getting better each month, but March was not good at all.  I report as monies are received, not just cashed out.
I do have 4 cash outs that should have been in, but still aren't.

In March I rec'd:

Swagbucks -- $25 paypal and $25 amazon
zubeezone -- $4.95 paypal
apptrailers -- $4.44 paypal (if you sign up, bonus code predictableuranus2 for bonus points)

redstaghits -- $24.59 paypal

clixsense -- $7.85 paypal
lucktastic -- $5 amazon
PerkTV - $5 amazon (if you join, please use my referral code-- 860efbf6 and get 50 bonus points)

This only comes to $101.33, and when you subtract the total of $34.57 that I paid out in site upgrades, it brings my total down to a sad $66.76 for the month.  I need this figure to be about 4 times that amount!

I am doing some things differently now such as getting ads out regularly in the mailers I am doing.
The other thing is that I must get to taking care of my crafts--making them, listing them for sale, and promoting them.

I sold a book last month in half.com and I sold some dishscrubbies in the online craft mall.  Both of those had expense for shipping, but I did not receive payment until this month.
I also sold a rug in my etsy store, however, a lot of my etsy listings re-listed so by the time I paid the shipping for the book and scrubbies, shipping on the rug, and the etsy fees, I only came how with a profit of $4.93 for the month.

Add the $4.93 to the $66.76 and my in pocket earnings for the month were $71.69.  Wish me luck for this figure to be a LOT better in April.

Frugal Friday with Marsha --More on Menu Planning

Last week I wrote about my daughter making up a menu plan, then shopping for all of the foods on the plan.
This week I went down and made a list of all the foods in the deep freeze and I meal planned from there.

Interestingly enough, this morning when I opened my kindle app to do some reading in one of the books I've shared with you before, I seen a title on the bottom row that interested me enough to click on it.  The ebook costs $2.99, but I downloaded the sample to read.

It's called Six Dollar Family and it's by Stacy Barr and is how she went from being a homeless mom with $6 in her pocket to where she is now.  
I want the whole book, but being my thrifty self, I don't like to spend more than 99 cents for an ebook.  I will highlight it at the bottom of this post for anyone interested.

In just the sample that I downloaded, she talks about the difference between a thrifty person and a frugal person, yes, including meal planning.  I want to share those 2 excerpts with you today:

"The thrifty person may know what tomorrow's dinner is, but they don't plan their meals or their grocery shopping.  Instead, they often wing it with boxed or packaged meals they picked up on sale, wander through the store buying "what looks good" and often give in to wasteful impulse buys."

"A frugal person menu plans regularly using what they already have in their home first and grocery shopping second.  They often cook meals from scratch and know the "true" cost of boxed meals doesn't always mean just a monetary value."

I fall in the frugal category here, and is exactly what I've done this week----and hope to continue to do. Once the stock of what we have on hand goes down, we can go from there, shopping the sales only on meats and other foods.  I just need to stick with it and give the grocery lists to my daughter.

Stacy Barr has a blog as well that I have checked out this morning.  I see so many posts I can't wait to read and I'm sure you will too.  Check it out!!  Six Dollar Family   From there you can also follow her on on the social media as well.

Here is the link to her book on amazon.  I encourage you, if nothing else to do as I did, and download the sample.  I'm getting a lot out of what I am reading.  So much, in fact, that I'm sure I will go ahead and buy the entire ebook.  On the amazon page where it says customers who bought this also bought these, I see 3 more ebooks right there that I want!

Coupons to Print

For each coupon, click the banner, or the link to access them  :)

Sign up for a free Atkins quick-start kit, including a carb counter and a printable BOGO coupon to get any Atkins product of equal or lesser value for free.


Click and print coupon to save $.50 on any ONE SUPERPRETZEL Soft Pretzel Product.


Don't forget to print out your $1 coupon for Dole Fruitocracy. You can find my full blog post about it HERE, or you can just click HERE to print your coupon. (2 prints per computer allowed)
Here are pictures of my granddaughters Araya and Willo enjoying their Fruitocracy. It is very good, and good for you with 20% of the daily Vitamin C in each pouch.

Don't forget to check each of these sites on a regular basis as coupons change frequently!








Happy Saving!!

Family Fun Magazine Suggests These Toys for Your April Fool's Jokes

FamilyFun Magazine is preparing for April Fool’s Day on April 1^st with the below list of hilarious tricks and gags. From faux bugs and tricky jelly beans to noise putty and fake teeth, FamilyFun’s list will have everyone in the friendly pranking mood!

1. KLUTZ PRANKSTER MAGIC

From mind-reading tricks to faux-gum pranks, your child will learn dozens of ways to fake out his friends with this book of tricks. Ages 8 and up, $13; store.scholastic.com

2. WHOOPEE CUSHION

You better watch where you sit come April 1! The iconic balloon trick never fails. Ages 3 and up, $7 for 12;orientaltrading.com

3. GOOGLY EYES GLASSES

What are you looking at? These oversize eyeball specs wiggle and jiggle as your child moves his head around. Ages 14 and up, $9; mcphee.com

4. HAND BUZZER

Think before you shake on that April Fools’ Day truce. With this wind-up, wearable buzzer, your partner in crime could give you quite the shock when your hands meet. Ages 6 and up, $4; schylling.com

5. BEANBOOZLED

Eat this candy only if you dare! (Or, of course, if you’re tricked.) Is that flavor berry blue or toothpaste? Chocolate pudding or dog food? You won’t know until you take a bite. Ages 6 and up, $2.50; jellybelly.com

6. TOYSMITH NOISE PUTTY

Does somebody need a bathroom pass? Push the putty to create a symphony of hilariously embarrassing bodily noises. Ages 5 and up, $4 each; amazon.com

7. REV-UP ICKY COCKROACH

This trick is what nightmares are made of—a giant cockroach that kids can wind and send scurrying into a room. Ages 6 and up, $25 for a set of 4 bugs; unclemilton.com

8. TWO-WAY TRICK SQUIRT CAMERA

Smile! That family pic is more fun when a squirt of water replaces the camera flash. (But photographer, beware: A switch of a button directs the stream back on you.) Ages 8 and up, $7; tintoyarcade.com

9. NPW CLASSIC SOUND MACHINE

Whether it’s the sound of a doorbell ring or glass breaking, this pocket-size noise machine will up your child’s prank game.Ages 6 and up, $14; amazon.com

10. TROUBLED TEETH

Quick, schedule an emergency dentist appointment! Kids will get a rise out of teachers or other parents with any one of these four sets of fake teeth. Ages 5 and up, $4; landofnod.com

Disclosure:  Family Fun Magazine sent me the list to share with my readers.  I was not compensated for sharing the list, and none of the links are associated to me.

Frugal Friday With Marsha-- Meal Planning

 First of all, happy Good Friday to everyone.   We have family/church plans to go the Alley this afternoon and then the Good Friday service at church this evening.

This past week we finally got our acts together to do something we should have done months ago, that is start meal planning.

This week wasn't frugal as my daughter asked the children what they wanted to eat for the week.  She then went and bought all the foods from the plan.   We, or she, can't do that again for awhile, so for next week we will have to look at foods we have on hand and then plan the meals.

It's been so nice to look at the list and know what will be fixed over scrambling to decide at the last minute each evening!
For now we will be using a sheet of notebook paper stuck on the fridge, but I hope soon to order a magnetic meal planning board.

I love the 99 cent ebooks added to my kindle app, so I've added this one to my collection of frugal type books to my app:


There are lots of choices of kindle books to choose from on this subject.  I wish I could order and read them all for motivation.  If you would like to check some of them out, just click HERE.

I hope to give you an update next week that we have actually followed through with our plans!

Save $1 on Dole's Fruitocracy!

Have you heard of Fruitocracy?  It's by Dole and is a squeezable fruit pouch that tweens and moms are loving!
Fruitocracy is made with all-natural fruit and comes in vibrantly colored pouches.
You will love that this on-the-go snack has no high fructose syrup and is non-GMO.

Fruitocracy comes in 6 flavors:
Apple Banana
Apple
Apple Cherry
Apple Mixed Berry
Apple Pineapple
Apple Strawberry

Click HERE to print your $1 coupon now!    Psssstttt.....think fun and nutrition for those Easter baskets.

Want more information about Fruitocracy?  Click HERE to visit their website.






Disclosure:  This information was sent to me to share with my readers, including images.  I was not compensated for this post, however it does contain affiliate links.

WIP Wednesday 3/23/16

I didn't end up getting a post written last week with the chaos surrounding my family.  I didn't get much done this week on my quilting/sewing/crafts, so it's a good thing that I have some things to share with you from the week before.

This past week I have been working on the Arkansas Crossroads quilt.  I've just been putting lines on to prepare to make the half square triangles and didn't take a picture of that.  However, at sit n' sew at the quilt shop I did get some of the half square triangles completed, and put together 3 blocks.

I got in some more crocheting on the prayer shawl:

I pulled out the t-shirt rug I started one movie day at church.   Yes, I know, it's no wonder the rugs don't get done when I am flipping back and forth working on 3 or 4 different ones, but we are having another movie day at church soon where I will work on this one again.

Last but not least, I did pull out my purple hexagons for the soscrappy color this month, and got several of those made.  I apologize for my photo being darker and blurred.  I took the picture with just my lamp on after grandkids had already fallen asleep here in the living room.

UFO's:

Rectangle quilt
challenge wall hanging
Hexagon quilt
Emerald Island Fusique table runner
Five and Dime quilt
Brown half square triangle table runner
3 sets of doll blanket, pillows, bed and rug--plus more to sell
Wall hanging for quilt guild
yo-yo's that need to be made into projects
black and white rail fence quilt
Arkansas Crossroads scrap quilt
T-shirt latchhook rug
Rainbow colored locker hook rug
T-shirt toothbrush rug
Charming Stars quilt
Special crocheted prayer shawl
Fall Squares table topper

2016 Finishes:
Smaller pink 4 patch quilt for charity
Pink 4 patch quilt for charity
Hexagon flower table runner

I am linking up with the following blogs: