We're At the End! Please Be Safe!

Good afternoon to my FABULOUS readers! It's the end of the year post and I hope that everyone will be celebrating safely on this evening. AAA is offering free towing from 6pm to 6am (check with your local AAA) and I know in some cities public transportation offers free rides, so please take advantage if you find that you are too impaired to drive. Please do not take chances with your life or the lives of others. Never think it can't happen to you, or you've done it before or you're in control. It's not worth it! Take advantage of the free transportation services. You only get one life.

I must say that I have truly had a good year. It may not have been perfect but I plan to go into the next year with higher heights in life emotionally and spiritually. I look forward to enjoying life to the fullest. I'm grateful for all that has happened and my increased faith. I'm thankful for those who have took the time to stop by and read my blog. I'm thankful for my beautiful family and wonderful friends. I thank God for my rainbows during my rainstorms. I'm thankful for shelter, food and clothing. I'm thankful for all of God's miracles and all that He has done and has yet to do.

So on that note, I want to wish everyone an awesomely blessed, prosperous, and safe New Year. Always find a song to sing when it's raining and find a reason to smile even though it's cloudy. Complaining don't make the situation no better and it don't make God move no faster.

May God Bless You All!!!

Carla Mason-Dubose

Got my First Free Sample!

Hello to my FABULOUS readers!! I hope that everyone is having a great week. I must say this week is going by pretty fast and to top it off, I think my little munchkin gave me her sickness (she's so sweet!) I'm all stuffed up and it's making me so miserable. I've been doctoring myself with cold meds and cough drops. Hopefully I'll be okay by Sunday. I'm supposed to be singing at a concert, so I hope I'm feeling better.

But onto other news....I hope you are visiting a few of my favorite blogs sweeptight.com; pennypinchingpolly on Facebook and justmarriedwithcoupons.com.  Also checkout Melinda's Sparkling Creations on Facebook, savingstar.com and freeflys.com. These are sites that I visit often and you can find some really great deals.

I got my first FREE perfume sample in the mail today. It's called Body by Burberry and I must say I really like it. I can't wait to wear it. It's an .06 ounce sample. The fragrance is pretty strong so a couple of sprays and I'm good to go. I'm still waiting on a few other samples I requested, so as soon as they come in, I'll definitely be posting.

That's all the news I have so far. I'll definitely be keeping everyone informed. It's evening now and we all know when it's gets closer to the time when you get really relaxed, that cold really starts weighing down. So until next post, have a wonderfully blessed and safe evening. Look for your rainbow in the midst of your rainstorm.

Back Up n Running!

Greetings to my FABULOUS readers! I am back up and running. I had to pull out the 'old faithful' computer.  It's slow, but it works. Trying to blog from my phone was not working! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday week. The middle of the week is almost here already and this year is pretty much over.

I must say I am truly thankful and grateful that my munchkin is all better. I'm grateful for the tests and trials that I've endured this year. We have truly been blessed as a family and individually and for that, I'm truly thanking God for all that He has done and is yet to do in the coming year. Whatever happened in 2011 and previous years is over and done, there's no turning back.  All we can do is move forward and be better. I'm looking forward to being elevated mentally and spiritually and using my gifts and talents that I have been blessed with in hopes that someone will be inspired and motivated to move forward and thank God for all that He has done.

I'm thankful for the small things in life. We get so focused on big things and what we don't have, until we forget just how blessed we are. So before we complain just say I'm thankful and this is only a test. There's brighter days ahead.  I've always said 'Look for your rainbow in the midst of your rainstorm.' Find a song to sing even when it's raining and get the strength to smile when it's cloudy, because trouble doesn't last always.

I hope that everyone continues to enjoy the rest of the year. Please be safe and above all things, Be Grateful!

Until next post....Have A Blessed Evening!

th the family. Hope everyone enjoys their holiday season. Until next post Be Blessed and Be Safe!

afambuswmn.blogspot.com

Good Afternoon my fabulous readers! I'm still posting from my phone. I hope that everyone had great day yesterday. I enjoyed church service and dinner wi

WISHING EVERYONE A WONDERFULLY BLESSED CHRISTMAS AND A VERY PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!!
afambuswmn.blogspot.com

all!

afambuswmn.blogspot.com

Greetings all. My computer is down so I'm posting from my phone. I want to wish everyone a wonderfully blessed holiday weekend. Be safe and God bless you

Let's Remember.......

I hope that everyone is doing well, these few days before Christmas.  I know alot of people are busy with holiday shopping and getting prepared to celebrate with family and friends, and as we get prepared,

Let's remember those that are less fortunate or feel like it's not Christmas

because there's no gifts under the tree

 Let's remember those in homeless shelters and on the streets

Let's remember to give a smile to everyone we meet

For all we know, that smile can meet a great need

Let's remember those in hospitals, hospices and nursing homes

 Let's remember those who may be watching their loved ones pass away 

and those that have passed on

 Let's remember those who are sick and shut in

and can't get out their door

Let's remember to love and pray a little more

Let's remember that the past is done

never again to return

Let's remember the lessons in this year

that we have learned

Let's remember to be grateful

for every single day

Merry Christmas to all

May the joy of peace always come your way

Original poem by C.M.D.

Checking In.....

Hello to my fabulous readers!! I've been MIA for the past couple days. It's been a hectic week between ER room visits and doc visit, I've been super busy.  My 10 month old is sick with bronchialitis and you know I've been just spoiling her. I hate it when babies are sick, they can't talk and tell you how they're feeling or where it hurts, but moma instincts will kick in. She was coughing so bad Tuesday night. I know she didn't sleep well and neither did I. Took her to the ER on Wednesday, doc said she has bronchialitis, gave her a breathing treatment and we went home. Early Thursday morning, she's coughing so bad until she's spitting up brown mucus, 1:00am, back to the ER I went. It didn't look right and I wasn't taking any chances. Doc said something about GI bleeding, they did a finger stick, she was also running a temperature of 102 so they gave her Tylenol. He said it could have been from the excessive coughing that could cause a small tear in the esophagus or stomach. He gave me a prescription and home we went. I took her to her regular doctor today and she gave her another breathing treatment, they also sent me home with a nebulizer that looks like a seal, it's so cute and she gave me a prescription for albuterol.  Although asthma doesn't run in our family, she was doing a lot of 'wheezing' and she also gave her meds for an ear infection.  Good murcy! She has been sleeping alot which is understandable. It's going to a journey, but whatever it takes to make the little munchkin feel better.

Don't forget to check out sweeptight.com and justmarriedwithcoupons.com for some awesome deals and giveaways and feel free to follow me on twitter @afambuswmn

Until next post BE SAFE AND BE BLESSED!!

Random Updates....

Good afternoon to all of my fabulous readers. Just want to take the time to say that I truly appreciate everyone who stops by my blog. I just started it a little over a month ago and I've gotten a few hundred visits. I'm still new at this, learning the ropes about blogging and networking, so any feedback, comments or suggestions you can provide would be truly helpful. Don't forget to follow me @afambuswmn on Twitter.

Okay, so I've been a moma on a mission.  I've been entering giveaways galore. I haven't won anything yet, but it's still fun just to enter. Quick update on the savingstar.com website, IT WORKS!! A mommy blogger at http://www.armywife101.com/ is also a participant in this website. For those who haven't read my previous post about this website, I'll give you an overview. It's basically an ecoupon website where you register your store savings cards. You browse through the coupons, click activate and when you scan your card at the grocery store those savings go into an account. So if you have a total of 5.00 in ecoupons activated and you scan all of those items at the store, $5.00 will go into an account. After 5.00 you are eligible to receive a payout in the form of a giftcard or to your paypal account (which I just signed up for one, I'm so late). It takes a couple of days for the money to show up, but so far I have 2.40 in my account. I can't wait to go grocery shopping again, so I can save even more. I say that's a pretty good way to earn a few extra bucks. I've still been visitng sweeptight.com and justmarriedwithcoupons.com, two awesome websites that have some great giveaways. Just married with coupons is offering $50 off a customized blog page. The graphics are truly awesome. I'm definitely thinking about giving my blogpage an update. Mine just seems so...blahhhhh. Also check out www.gigispetals.com. There are some beautifully created accessories on this site and check out Sparkling Creations by Melinda on Facebook, beautiful glass pendants and earrings.

I just wanted to stop by, don't forget to follow me on twitter @afambuswmn. As I mentioned before, usually when I enter a giveaway I post a 'tweet' about it, so that will keep you posted on the giveaways that's going on.

Until next post........BE BLESSED AND BE SAFE!

It's Monday Again!

Good Monday afternoon my fabulous readers! I hope that everyone has an awesome weekend and now it's back to the grind....

So here's some updates about the new products I've tried (these opinion are expressly my own, I purchased these products with my own money)....I gave my daughter the Yobaby yogurt and I don't think she's liking it all that well. She had a few spoonfuls, I would say maybe an ounce overall and that was it. It was the blueberry flavor. I highly doubt it will go to waste, because my teen daughter just got braces last week so, the yogurt will do her well since her mouth has been a little bit sore.

Her braces look really nice on her, she got 'pink' and they are a far more advance 'model' from the type of braces the kids used to get when I was growing up.

I also tried the Marie Calender's Flavor Steamers microwave dinners. I had the Teriyaki Chicken...oh my so good!! I still the the Sweet and Sour Chicken in the freezer which I'll probably have some time today or tomorrow, since the hubby is cooking today.

As I posted before I have been on a sweepstakes/giveaway/freebie mission. Hopefully, I can win a prize or two. sweeptight.com has some really nice giveaways, there's also a page on her blog where she lists giveaways on other blogs. I've signed up for a few freebies on freeflys.com and shopathome.com. For some reason my toolbar disappeared, which you will need to download this in order to enter some of the sweepstakes and sign up for the freebies. Also I like justmarriedwithcoupons.com, which hosts some really nice giveaways as well. If you would like, you can just click on the sweeptight button on my sidebar.

It will probably be a few weeks before my free items start coming in the mail, but as soon as it does, you know I'll be posting. Also, please feel free to follow me on twitter @afambuswmn. A few of the giveaways I have entered, I tweet about, which is also an option when you're entering, so that will be another way to stay informed of giveaways.

Well, let me get back to being busy. Until next post....BE BLESSED AND BE SAFE!

Nothing Wrong With....

COUPONS!! Greetings all..so in my last post I mentioned a few websites that I printed coupons from. So on to get my busy day started with GROCERY SHOPPING!!!yaaaayyy!!! So I'm doing my shopping and got my little coupon pouch all ready, got my cart full and to the checkout I go. Some of the coupons I had I didn't use because of the price of the item, the amount off just wasn't enough. For instance I had a coupon for .75 off a box of CoCo Puffs, well coco was almost 4.00 so that .75 off wasn't enough, so no CoCo Puffs this trip. If I had been thinking, the coupons I didn't use, I could just left at the store, maybe someone else could have used them, but I'll do that next time. I still have a few coupons I didn't use that won't expire until January, so maybe they'll come in handy. Remember the savings star ecoupon website I posted about where you register your store savings card. Well I did purchase a couple of items off my ecoupon list, but my savings star account still says 'not redeemed', so I'm not sure how long it takes for it to actually post to the account, but when it does, I'll surely let you know.

New Items I'm Trying....
I had a coupon for .50 off the  4-pack YoBaby Organic Yogurt. I haven't tried to give it to the baby yet, but when I do, I'll be sure to let you know how well she liked or maybe didn't like it.

I also got two Marie Callender's Fresh Flavors Steams microwave dinners. She has some awesome dinners in her frozen food line, so I'll be trying one of these today and let you know how it tastes.

Freebies!
I have been busy on my freeflys.com and shopathome.com website, signing up for some freebies. So far I've requested a couple of free samples of perfume and cologne, hair products and baby products, oh yeah and a Christmas Candle, silly me didn't write down the website it was from, but if I find it I'll post it here. After all, I want everyone to have a chance to get some freebies. So when I get them, I'll be sure to post some reviews.

I also decided that I'm going to challenge myself to start entering some giveaways this season, I think winning is a great thing! I'll be sure to write down the websites so I can pass them along. sweeptight.com usually has giveaways daily. shopathome.com has a list of giveways for all kinds of items from cash to clothes. There's about 600 contests on their site to be sure to check them out.

Until next post...BE BLESSED AND BE SAFE!!

I have been one busy moma!

Tis The Season....

To Clip Coupons!
Yes, I'm giving in and doing my best to start clipping coupons. With the holidays coming up and since we are having Christmas dinner at our home, I figured I can save all the money I can on the food! So I've been web-hunting looking for some coupon clipping sites. I came across a few that I like and I found some good coupons for things that we actually eat! I guess the reason why I never really  clipped coupons was because the foods they had we don't eat and it seems like you have to buy at least 20 of one product just to save .50. Not worth it! So here are the websites that I have printed coupons from.

www.freeflys.com I like this website because not only are there great products to choose from, there's also a link where you can get coupon codes to places like Macys, JCPenney, Dollar Rental and a lot of other places and since this is one of the busiest shopping seasons, I figured 15% off and more can add up real quickly.

I also signed up for www.savingstar.com This website is really cool because you can enter the number of your local store savings card like Walgreens, Food Lion, Rite Aid, Harris Teeter and link coupons to your card, so that when you purchase those items and scan your card, the savings is automatically deducted. Once you've saved $5 you can get a payout in the form of a gift card. I did see Amazon, so I think that's a good deal. So far I've linked 4.40 in coupons to my card so when I go grocery shopping this weekend, I'll definitely let you know if it worked.

I also came across www.dealsformommy.com Another coupon website by a mommy coupon blogger, where you will find printable coupons, travel deals, local coupons and links to some other coupon website.

My husband asked if he's going to set up a closet for me since I'm going to attempt to start clipping coupons. I assured him that I will not come home with 100 boxes of cereal or 240 rolls of paper towels.

So I'll be sure to update on how much I saved this weekend. Until next post....be blessed and be safe!

One Day Closer.....

It's already the 5th of December, next weekend half of the month will be over. I must say good things are going on. Alot of giveaways are going on. Visit www.SweepTight.com also www.nomorerack.com has some awesome deals. You can also google giveaways and come across some great websites that are doing giveaways during this time.

In the job market, I've been blessed to have four opportunities come my way. I just have to wait to hear back. I'm truly grateful, so I believe I will be back to work next month, but even if I don't, I'm okay with that, because that gives me more time to spend with my munchkin.

I went to my daughter's Winter Concert at her school where her orchestra class performed.  They did a truly awesome job. I wish I would have recorded, but of course, my battery was low. I'm very proud of her.

I just want to encourage everyone this holiday season, as I have mentioned before alot people get really depressed because of the commercialism that is emphasized around this time of year. I just want to let everyone know to hold on, things WILL get better. It's not about gifts or money, but let's focus on spending time with family and friends.

So what are your holiday plans, I would love to hear them!

Until next post...Be Blessed and Be Safe!

Just Want to Be Better...

Hi all!! It's been a couple of days since my last post, so I just wanted to let you all know that all is well. I'm still enjoying married life-the family is great as well.

I've been looking back over this year that is pretty much over and I must say it's been a great year. I look at my baby and can't believe that she is almost 10 months old and becoming such a big girl. I told my husband I wanted another baby and he gave me a quick 'no', didn't take two seconds to think about it, but it's fine. I'm 38 and I'm done having babies. I'm just enjoying my baby while I can. She's starting to babble a couple of words, I think 'da-da' is a universal word. She's even starting to stand by herself for a few seconds. I can say that it has been a great year. My daughter was born in February, I got married in November, and I started this blog. I am truly grateful to have been home for almost the entire first year of my little one's life to watch her grow and reach those many milestones that occur within the first year. I also have two interviews set up for Monday, so I'm also excited about that. I'm sure I'll be returning to work soon which is really bittersweet, because I know I'm going to miss my munchkin but we have goals that we want to accomplish in the coming year, so I need to return to work.

I'm looking forward to 2012. Everything that happened in 2011 is over, done, finished, it happened, on to the next year. My goal is not to be bigger, because I've never been the kind of person that needed my name in bright lights or my name on a billboard, but I do aspire to be better. I want to grow spiritually and become a better mother, wife, friend, daughter and sister. I want to do more next year than I did this year. Whatever I may be knowingly or unknowingly holding onto, I want to let it go. Life is too short and the end of the day is not promised.

I would love to hear your thoughts, comments, and your aspirations for the coming year.

Until next post, Be Blessed and Be Safe--Look for your Rainbow in the midst of your Rainstorm.