I had heard about Alice from Money Saving Mom, but had never tried it, until I was able to get a $5 gift card from Swagbucks for cashing in only 12 of my swagbucks. 

I case you haven't heard about Alice, it's a website where you can buy all types of household products and shipping is always free.  They have a 6 item minimum order, except on your first order.  Your first order can only be one item, if you want.  Alice also has clip-free coupons that you can use to bring the prices down on some items.  There is a small catch, you can only use one coupon on one like item.  So, if you wanted to use a coupon on 2 same brand shampoos, you would have to pick a different scent, for it to be counted as different.


This is the order I received after using my $5 gift card.  I was able to purchase all this for only $4.80 after coupons.  The total before coupons was $7.96.  I think that was a really good deal since I bought 5 things essentially for free because I traded in my swagbucks, plus it was delivered right to my door by UPS.

Here are some of the deals they have today at Alice: Clairol Hair Color $0.90, Good Start Infant Formula for $2.02, Lipton Tea $0.59, and Brut deodorant $1.27.  The way to find the best deals is to click on Other Ways to Shop, and then Shop the Best Deals.  That will bring up the top 50 deals.

For today only Alice is offering their gift cards for up to 30% off.  That makes Alice an even better deal!  If you haven't tried Alice yet, you can sign up here.  If you have already used their service, what's the best buy you've gotten?

This is a song about being thankful and since we just celebrated Thanksgiving, I thought it would be a good song to share.

Come, Ye Thankful People, Come

1. Come, ye thankful people, come,
raise the song of harvest home;
all is safely gathered in,
ere the winter storms begin.
God our Maker doth provide
for our wants to be supplied;
come to God's own temple, come,
raise the song of harvest home.

2. All the world is God's own field,
fruit as praise to God we yield;
wheat and tares together sown
are to joy or sorrow grown;
first the blade and then the ear,
then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we
wholesome grain and pure may be.

3. For the Lord our God shall come,
and shall take the harvest home;
from the field shall in that day
all offenses purge away,
giving angels charge at last
in the fire the tares to cast;
but the fruitful ears to store
in the garner evermore.

4. Even so, Lord, quickly come,
bring thy final harvest home;
gather thou thy people in,
free from sorrow, free from sin,
there, forever purified,
in thy presence to abide;
come, with all thine angels, come,
raise the glorious harvest home.

 I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! I hope you were able to spend time with friends and loved ones.

We went to my older cousin's house today. They are more like parents to me, since my parents have passed on. It was nice being with them, they had a full house, but still welcomed us. Hunter was able to play with his cousin Josh. Mitchell was able to see his cousin A.J. who just moved back to town.


We had so much food, there wasn't enough room for it all! We had ham and chicken and dumplings, and tons of vegetables. Lots of sweets too, like pumpkin pie, cheesecake, and brownies. My "mommy" even gave me a pecan pie to take home and enough leftovers for a few days!


Today I am thankful for my husband, my children, my home, my friends, my family and I am especially thankful for Jesus. I am also thankful for all of my friends I have met through blogging!  Y'all are awesome!   I am very blessed!  (The pictures from this post are from our Homeschool Thanksgiving party.)

 I was recently given the chance to review a necklace from Wow Imports.  I was really excited because I've always loved personalized things.  There is just something about having an item made especially for you!  Wow Imports is a family business that only sells fair trade and eco-friendly products.  All of the personalized jewelry is handmade.

I was able to look at all the different styles, and try them on, so to speak, with my name.  There are lots of different styles to choose from.  In the end, I chose the Brianna style.  I chose it because it's very similar to the fonts used for Walt Disney World, and y'all know how I love everything Disney!  My necklace is sterling silver with a sterling silver box chain and the value is $27.95.  Since each necklace is handmade, each cut may be different, so you'll receive a one of  a kind piece.


Wow Imports sells a variety of items including name earrings, bracelets, and rings.  They have a variety of religious pieces and other items which can be personalized also.  They sell items handmade by artisans from South Africa that make very unique items, like the one below.  I just have to show you this one, since I love chickens so much.  He's made from recycled plastic.  Isn't he the cutest?


My readers are getting a 5% discount on any purchase made using the code: southern5.

Would you like to win a piece of personalized jewelry?  Wow Imports is giving away an item valued up to $27.95 to one of my readers.

• Required First Entry- Browse the necklaces and come back and tell me which style you would like to win.

You can get extra entries for doing any of the following, please leave a separate comment for each:

• Follow me on Google Friend Connect for an extra entry.
• Follow me on Twitter & tweet this giveaway for an extra entry.
• Put my button on your sidebar for an extra entry.
• Blog about this giveaway for 2 extra entries.

Giveaway open to everyone world-wide.  Giveaway will close Wednesday night December 2nd at midnight.  Good Luck!

I was provided a necklace from Wow Imports in association with Mama Bzz in exchange for a review of their product.

Yesterday it was raining...again and really chilly outside. And inside too, since I'm trying to save on the power bill. It's times like these I really want a snuggie or a slanket. I think they would be really great for sitting in the recliner with my laptop.

Anyway, my older son asked when we were going to make some hot chocolate again. I usually make it during the winter to help keep us warm. So, I got out the ingredients and started making it. I thought I would share the recipe with y'all, in case you would like to make some too.


Hot Chocolate

4 cups dry milk powder
1 3/4 cups sugar (or less, we like it sweet)
1 cup coffee creamer
2/3 cup cocoa
1 box chocolate pudding mix

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and pour in a container for use later. I use a rubbermaid container.

We use 1/4 to 1/3 cup of mix to a glass of water.

This is another song from our church's drama.  I heard a lot of songs that night that really hit home with me.  I hope y'all are having a wonderful Sunday!

Just One More Soul

The preachers are weary
The singers are tired
The church as we know it
Is losing its fire
Some are discouraged from bearing the load
But we must determine to keep pressing on

‘Cause if just one more soul
Were to walk down the aisle
It would be worth every struggle
It would be worth every mile
A lifetime of labor is still worth it all
If it rescues just one more soul

So preachers, keep preachin’
And singers, go sing
Laymen, keep sharing
That Jesus is King
The angels have gathered, they’re surrounding the throne
And they’ll start rejoicing for just one more soul

The winner of SpellQuizzer as chosen by random.org is comment #1 Kris.  Thanks to everyone who entered!  I'll have another giveaway next week, check back to see what it is!

I recently had the opportunity to try The Ultimate Cloth. It's a MiraFiber cloth that is eco-friendly and chemical free. The cloth can be used to clean most anything from windows to wood to marble.

My first thought when I touched the cloth was how it felt more paper-like than cloth. It feels like a heavy duty paper towel. However, it's much stronger and can be washed 100's of times. I have washed it once myself and it still looks like new.

The Ultimate Cloth is great because you don't have to change cleaners from surface to surface. It only needs water to clean with, no harsh chemicals. It's a large cloth and when folded you have 8 different sides to clean with before it needs washing.  The price starts at only $6!  That's a great price for something that could last years.

I am going to share some before and after pictures of cleaning I did with The Ultimate Cloth. The first is the before of the island in my kitchen. It had caked on flour and other things stuck on from baking something.


Here is the after. It cleaned this really well.


This is the before of the glass in my french doors. Yes, I know they are really dirty. That's why it was a good test, lol!


This is the after. The glass looks so much better!


The only thing I tried it on that didn't work great, was on my glass-top stove. It did fairly well, but there was still stuff stuck on, that it didn't get off.

Don't just take my word for how neat this cloth is.  How would you like to try The Ultimate Cloth for yourself? There are two ways to get a free cloth, so you can see how great this cloth is for yourself.

1. Become a fan on Twitter:   http://twitter.com/Ultimate_Cloth
or
2. Become a fan on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ultimate-Cloth-America/209222110335?v=wall&ref=ts

Thanks to The Ultimate Cloth and Mama Bzz for sending me this cloth for free in exchange for review.

Rachelle at Mama's Little Bears is having a toy giveaway for little ones.  You can enter her giveaway here.

Carolina Mama is having a delicious ice cream giveaway.  You can enter here.

Butterball turkey giveaway at Rockin Mama.  You can enter here.

 My son recently had the opportunity to read Curse Of The Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper.  It's the beginning of a series called The Berinfell Prophecies.  It's for ages 12-17 and sells for $14.99 for a hardback book.  Amazon currently has it listed for only $10.19.

My son is 12 and when I asked him how he liked the book, he said it was was really good, but a little confusing at times, during the flashbacks.  He says it's about a group of 13-year-olds who came from another world, but didn't know it.  They end up learning they are elves and are chased by an army from their old world.  They also develop powers, for example, one could read minds. 

Some of his favorite things from the book were that the bad guys ride on the backs of spiders.  He also liked a car chase, and thought there should be more.  He loved all the different creatures that popped up in the book.  A lot of times he would say he couldn't stop reading because it was just starting to get good.

In his opinion he says teenagers would really like the book if they like mystical creatures from different worlds.  It has a lot of action and draws you in.  At the end of the book there is a sneak peak at the next book in the series.  Mitchell says he wants to read that one too.

This book was provided for free from Thomas Nelson and Mama Bzz in exchange for review.

For the last two weekends our church has put on a drama which is kind of like a Judgement House.  Every time I watched it, it seemed to get better.  Last night was a packed house for which we were really thankful for.  This year we had ours in our sanctuary and in between scenes we had a wonderful band that performed.  The songs related to each scene and were very touching.  A lot of people went to the altar at the end of each performance.  Including a bunch of teenagers from our church who were in the drama.  It was so awesome!

This year I wasn't in the drama, but helped with refreshments and nursery.  I had a wonderful time talking with people and holding the little ones.  Last night was great.  I got to hold two little girls.  Which is awesome since I only have boys.  They were such sweet little girls, not like my wild boys.  It was funny when we had a big group waiting for the next performance, my little one screamed so loud, everyone stared.  He just has to be the loudest in the room, I don't know why. 

I am so blessed to have a wonderful church family!

It's Magical Disney Sunday with Heidi from Fairy Footprints In The Sand.  Today I am sharing pictures of entertainment at Disney World.  The first picture shows the characters welcoming everyone to the Animal Kingdom.  They tell jokes and things to keep everyone entertained until the park officially opens.


This one is from The Lion King Show.  It's really a fun show, even though my then 1 year old slept through it, lol!


Here's a band singing and playing instruments.  We had to stop on the path for awhile to enjoy them.


This is the Indiana Jones Stunt Show at Disney Studios.


At Epcot they have Kidcot Stations to keep the little ones from getting bored.  Kids go from attraction to attraction and can make things.  Here, Hunter is making a necklace with sea creatures on it.  He got to decorate it with markers. 


This is a group of cloggers in Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom.


The last shot I have for today is of Illuminations from Epcot.  Disney likes to end each night with a fireworks show.  Illuminations is one of the best.

Thank y'all for the kind wishes when I fell the other day.  I am feeling better.  My back still hurts, but not nearly as bad.  This morning I just couldn't get woken up, and was so cold, I stayed in bed for way too long.  My little one, who was laying around all day the other day too, feels better also.  I am thankful he didn't get sick.  It was nice to be able to hold him, if only for a day.  He's back to going a hundred miles a minute again.

Tropical Storm Ida came early Tuesday, and stayed, and stayed, and stayed!  It didn't stop raining until today, so my husband was only able to work one day this week.  Things were already tight, they're just getting tighter.  I would appreciate it if y'all would keep us in your prayers. 

I have been given the chance to try out SpellQuizzer with my son.  SpellQuizzer is spelling software for children that need help learning their spelling and vocabulary words. The SpellQuizzer web site has pre-made downloadable spelling lists that you can download and use with SpellQuizzer.  You can also go in and make your own lists, no matter what curriculum you are using.  It's great for homeschoolers and children in public school too.

I can either go in and make a list for my son by typing in the word and saying the word with a sentence, or I can download a list.  The lists can be shared among users, in case you don't want to make your own..  I tried to make it fun for my son by saying funny sentences or relating it to him somehow.  The program will even alert you if it thinks you are putting in the wrong spelling of a word on your list.  

I tell my son which list he is to study on, and he can do it on his own.  If he gets a word wrong, it flashes up the correct spelling, and at the end of the list, he can repeat only the misspelled words.  If he finishes the list and spells everything correctly, he is rewarded by cheering from the program.

The great thing about the SpellQuizzer spelling program is that you can make the lists as short or long as you want.  I started out making a list of about 20 words, but my son gets nervous when he feels pressured.  So, I discovered that it helped him a lot if I made the lists shorter.  There was less chance of him getting a shorter list wrong and that helped build up his confidence. 

You can also use it for preschoolers.  They have a list you can download that helps them learn their letters.  I think soon I will be able to use this with my two year old.  He loves the computer already and loves to match up things.

You can go here to see a video demonstration of SpellQuizzer. You can also download a free 30 day trial by going here.

Would you like to win a free download of SpellQuizzer (A $29.95 value)? I have one to give away. There are 5 ways to enter.

1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Follow my blog for an extra entry.
3. Put my button on your sidebar for another entry.
4. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway for another entry.
5. Post about this giveaway on your blog for another 2 extra entries.

For each extra entry you do, please leave another comment.
Giveaway ends Friday night November 20 at midnight.

SpellQuizzer was provided to me for free from the company in exchange for review.

                               (This was not my actual camera)

 My camera is broke!  I have tried and tried to make it work again, but no such luck.  So, until I can afford to buy a new one I'll have to post pics from my Flip video camera.  Still pics from the Flip aren't as good as digital pics, so I apologize in advance for the picture quality or for the lack of pictures.  If anyone has an extra digital camera they want to send me, I would appreciate it, lol!

In other news, I fell down the steps.....AGAIN!  It was raining and the steps were extra slick.  It hurt pretty bad, and I have some nice bruises, but nothing is broke.  Thank the Lord!  I'm sure I will be hurting tomorrow.

My little one wanted to be held all day today, I'm hoping he's not coming down with something.  It was nice to be able to hold him without him wanting up and down.  He's always on the go these days and doesn't have much time for me.

Last night I was hurrying so I could get to our church. We're doing a drama and I was supposed to help out.  I didn't want my husband to be hungry while I was gone, so I was going to put the ingredients in the bread machine, so he would have some bread to eat.  Only I forgot something.  Something critical.


I think it's called the paddle.  I had washed it, and forgot to put it back in.  Because I was in such a hurry I didn't realize it.  When the machine was "done", the bread was not.   It was quite disgusting looking.  My poor hubby had to wait until I got home at 10 last night for me to cook something else for him.  I hate that I wasted ingredients for a loaf of bread, but at least my chickens enjoyed it this morning.