Have you blogged about a Handmade Christmas idea? Submit the link through this form here and we’ll consider sharing it as part of this series during the next 4 weeks!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
If you missed this morning assignment, find it here.
It was another great day today! Silas had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon, so we’d planned to have a date beforehand. Only problem was, when I went to start the car, the battery was dead.
Jesse was already planning to meet up with us to go to Silas’ appointment, so he just came home early after court so he could jump the car.
In the mean time, Silas and I made a snack and walked to the park. Being the “proper” sort of guy he is, he was insistent we bring cereal in a ceramic mug. No snack bars or paper bowls for this guy. 🙂
Speaking of “proper”, notice his outfit? He’s taken to wearing dress shirts, sweaters, and sweater vests on a very regular basis. He even asked if he could wear a tie with his outfit, too. 😉
His sense of style cracks me up. Jesse and I are totally cool with our children picking out their own outfits, provided it somewhat fits the occasion and weather, so we have lots of style variety out our house right now with Kaitlynn being the fashionista, Kathrynne opting for camo and tattered jeans, and Silas sporting sweater vests. I love to see their unique personalities expressed in their clothing choices. 🙂
While at the park, we found this guy. Silas was fascinated.
Silas was fascinated.
Time at the park with Silas definitely counted for my relaxation project today, it was leisurely and fun. I find that it’s such a good thing to have special one-on-one time with a child to get to really listen to them and just soak up the moments with them.
I also spent a little time reading and looking at knitting blogs online, too. Not that I need to be starting any new knitting projects when I already have four more lined up that I want to do after my scarf is finished. But it’s still inspiring to see all these amazing things bloggers are knitting!
I hope you had a great day today! Thanks for joining me in all these projects this week. Be sure to come back a week from Monday morning for your next assignment! Enjoy a relaxing Thanksgiving week!
How you do on Day 10? I’d love to have you share your progress and success with us so we can be inspired. Either post a link to your blog post below or leave a comment with your update.
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
I just wanted to say a big thank you to each of you for making the launch of my second ebook, Celebrating & Savoring a Simple Christmas, such a success this week. Your support of this project meant so much to me.
Also, thank you for your patience while I posted about it a LOT this week. You all are so great!
The two winners from yesterday were:
Barbara (olmfamily1@) (Facebook-a-Thon $100 Amazon gift card giveaway winner)
Kim (kdevore@) (Kindle PaperWhite giveaway winner)
Both of you should have been contacted with details on how to claim your prize.
And now back to our regularly-scheduled programming… 🙂
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Need encouragement to set goals, live with purpose, and cultivate self-discipline? Be sure to get a copy of my ebook, 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life.
From November 5 to December 7 (skipping the week of Thanksgiving), every weekday morning at 9 a.m. EST, I’ll be posting the day’s assignment and then every evening at 7 p.m. EST, I’ll be posting my progress and pictures, along with a link-up for you to share your progress and pictures, too.
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Dust all ceiling fans and clean all light fixtures in your house. Check for burned out light bulbs and replace.
::Set the timer for at least 15 minutes and do something you really enjoy and that relaxes and rejuvenates you. If you need ideas, here are a few: read, write, call a friend, pray, exercise, bake, play with your children, laugh with your husband, stop by the bookstore and browse the book selection, work in the garden, or take a nap! Take some time to just stop and enjoy life today!
Take pictures of your accomplishments and blog about them, if you’d like. And then come back here at 7 p.m. EST to share your progress posts or tell us about your accomplishments in a comment.
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Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Welcome to our series on 31 Ways to Earn Extra Cash Before Christmas. In this series, I’m highlighting simple and legitimate ways you can earn extra cash over the next few weeks for those of you who could use a little extra cash to help you pay for Christmas — or just for your living expenses if you’re in a tight spot right now.
We’ve talked about a lot of ways to earn extra cash before Christmas in this series, but I wanted to also include a post in this series with some ideas of ways to get Christmas gifts for free.
Complete quizzes, watch videos, and more on Recyclebank to earn points. You can use these points to earn high-value coupons, magazine subscriptions, and gift cards.
There are typically opportunities to earn at least 200 to 400 points each month, meaning you could earn at least a gift card or two each year. You could also request magazine subscriptions for people who live in your home (at this time, it doesn’t appear like you can have subscriptions sent to addresses other than your own).
2. Mailbox Freebies
Sign up for the mailbox freebies that I post and some of these might work for a stocking stuffer or to make a fun gift basket for someone! There are free bath & beauty products, free hair products, free tea/coffee/cappuccino samples, and sometimes even free gift cards!
You can earn points by reading emails, playing games, searching the web, or taking surveys through MyPoints. Cash in your points for free gift cards and more! Just by doing simple exercises each day, you should easily be able to earn at least a few gift cards each year.
5. Coupon/Drugstore Freebies
So many of the freebies that you can pick up by playing the drugstore game or using coupons could be turned into gift baskets or stocking stuffers.
6. Blog Giveaways
Liz emailed in and said: “I earn Christmas gifts by entering blog contests daily. I shoot for one hour a day, usually at night when watching tv. I follow about 100 blogs through email and they usually do giveaways weekly. I have won gift cards to grocery stores, lots of kids’ dvds, toys, body washes, free coupons, etc. I enter contests for pretty much everything. You never know when you will need an infant gift, toddler gift, or gift for your mother.”
Lori emailed in and said: “This isn’t earning cash, but it helps me fulfill my Christmas list without costing anything out of my budget at all! I just enter all the free Pampers Gift to Grow points throughout the year and cash them in for some gift cards at Christmas. This year, I got two $10 Applebees gift cards. I’ll be able to cross two people off my list with no money out of pocket.”
8. Kellogg’s Family Rewards
Have you signed up for Kellogg’s Family Rewards? You can earn points by inputting the codes from Kellogg’s products or by using the free coupon codes they are regularly releasing. You can use this points toward high-value coupons, magazines, toys, and other rewards.
9. Nielsen Homescan
If you are accepted as a panel member with Nielsen Home Scan, you will be sent a small hand-held scanner and will scan all the bar codes of everything you purchase. Once a week, you’ll transmit this information to Nielsen and you’ll earn points that can be redeemed for a variety of items from the Nielsen Gift Catalog.
What creative ideas do you have for earning free Christmas gifts? I’d love to hear your ideas!
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
If you missed this morning’s assignment, find it here.
It was such a good day today. After a full and busy few weeks, today was a much quieter day — and I’m going to bed with everything crossed off my to-do list today (which I forgot to get a picture taken of on accident!). It feels blissful and it’s not even the weekend yet!
Two of today’s projects: Wiping down all the light switches and tackled the bathroom (this is pre-cleaning, it looked worse in real-life than it does in the picture).
To top off a great day: I stopped by Starbucks for their Buy One, Get One Free Holiday Drinks this afternoon for Jesse and I to enjoy tonight for our at-home movie date. Yum!
How you do on Day 9? I’d love to have you share your progress and success with us so we can be inspired. Either post a link to your blog post below or leave a comment with your update.
From November 5 to December 7 (skipping the week of Thanksgiving), every weekday morning at 9 a.m. EST, I’ll be posting the day’s assignment and then every evening at 7 p.m. EST, I’ll be posting my progress and pictures, along with a link-up for you to share your progress and pictures, too.
Day 9 Assignment
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Clean your light switch plates. You can use a damp rag with a little disinfectant on it or a cleaning wipe. If you have younger children, they’d probably enjoy joining you in tackling this project!
Take pictures of your accomplishments and blog about them, if you’d like. And then come back here at 7 p.m. EST to share your progress posts or tell us about your accomplishments in a comment.
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
I had planned to do yesterday’s 4 Weeks to a More Organized Home projects after dinner last night… and that plan failed. And rather than stay up late to do it and post about it, I went to bed at a decent hour and got up and did it this morning.
Here’s what my dresser looked liked pre-cleaning… {Yes, my dresser is in our closet!}
And the top dresser drawer was even worse!
After 20 minutes, the entire dresser was cleaned out and oh so much better!
How you do on Day 8? I’d love to have you share your progress and success with us so we can be inspired. Either post a link to your blog post below or leave a comment with your update.
I also wiped down the doorknobs and was surprised that it took me less than 5 minutes to do!
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Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
I love the Christmas season. I love the sights, smells, tastes, sounds… all of it.
But you know what I don’t love? That so many people feel rushed, hurried, and frazzled during Christmas.
The heart of Christmas is not about impressing people or running around at a crazy, frantic speed. And making either of those things your focus is certainly not going to help you celebrate and savor the season!
Creating a Christmas Bucket List
One thing that has helped us to slow down and just enjoy December is to create a Christmas Bucket List. We all sit down as a family and choose a few things that each of us really wants to do for Christmas.
Last year, the girls wanted to build a snowman, play in the snow as a family, decorate Christmas cookies, and go ice-skating. I wanted to do an Advent project and take the girls to the Nutcracker, Jesse wanted to go look at Christmas lights as a family and watch one of our favorite Christmas movies together.
By the time we’re done discussing our Bucket List, we’ve come up with a great list of memorable activities to do together and since everyone gave their input, there’s something (or more than one thing) on the list that each person will really enjoy.
We spread these activities out during the whole month of December, doing a few items each week. Because our list is not long and overwhelming and because we have four weeks to do it, we’re able to really take time to enjoy each thing and create beautiful memories.
This tradition has been one of the best things we’ve ever implemented to help us stay focused, calm, and intentional during the Christmas season. And it also helps us to say “no” to most of the other ideas and opportunities that come up that aren’t already on our list.
Published: by Crystal Paine on | This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.
Need encouragement to set goals, live with purpose, and cultivate self-discipline? Be sure to get a copy of my ebook, 21 Days to a More Disciplined Life.
From November 5 to December 7 (skipping the week of Thanksgiving), every weekday morning at 9 a.m. EST, I’ll be posting the day’s assignment and then every evening at 7 p.m. EST, I’ll be posting my progress and pictures, along with a link-up for you to share your progress and pictures, too.
Day 8 Assignment
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Set the timer for 10 minutes and go through your messiest dresser drawer. Remove items you no longer love, need, and/or wear. Quickly organize the remaining items.
::Wipe down all the door handles in your home. You can use a damp rag with a little disinfectant on it or a cleaning wipe. If you have younger children, they’d probably enjoy joining you in tackling this project!
Take pictures of your accomplishments and blog about them, if you’d like. And then come back here at 7 p.m. EST to share your progress posts or tell us about your accomplishments in a comment.
I’m really late… again. It was a long and full day of normal life, releasing my Christmas ebook (thank you all for sharing in my excitement for this project!), an appointment, an interview, and we capped the day off with dinner with all of my extended family to celebrate a birthday. We didn’t arrive home until close to 10 p.m. and I’m just now checking my email and comments and blogging.
Such is life sometimes! But I wouldn’t trade my life for anyone else’s, even if I don’t always get my blog posts written when I plan to. 😉
The good news? I did get pretty much everything done on my list today — and my house is clean, to boot!
I had some great help with my vacuuming project!
Silas is so “into” vacuuming right now that I sometimes have to ban him from the vacuum cleaner or I think he might run it for hours on end!
How you do on Day 7? I’d love to have you share your progress and success with us so we can be inspired. Either post a link to your blog post below or leave a comment with your update.
From November 5 to December 7 (skipping the week of Thanksgiving), every weekday morning at 9 a.m. EST, I’ll be posting the day’s assignment and then every evening at 7 p.m. EST, I’ll be posting my progress and pictures, along with a link-up for you to share your progress and pictures, too.
Day 7 Assignment
::Get dressed in something that makes you feel great {there’s something about dressing in clothes that make you feel great that just gives you more energy and zest for life! Get your free copy of SarahMae’s ebook, Frumps to Pumps, if you need more motivation in this.}
::Sit down with a cup of coffee or tea and create a list of weekly goals. I’ll be posting my weekly goals later today along with a link-up so you can share yours, as well.
::Set the timer for 15 minutes and vacuum the main living areas of your home.
Take pictures of your accomplishments and blog about them, if you’d like. And then come back here at 7 p.m. EST to share your progress posts or tell us about your accomplishments in a comment.
If you missed this morning assignment, find it here.
