Today Only= $1 labels

Today ONLY-- $1 for 250 full color address labels and a free dispenser.... shipping included!  I know, I know, you probably have some free ones from some charity in your desk or your bill box... but these are pretty, AND they'll have your name spelled right!  ;)   

Use code 854758859 at check-out.  Warning: as of this writing I am still trying to check out... I just keep a few other tabs open and kept checking back... I'm sure their site is being slammed with bargain hunters!

Thanks to A Proverbs Wife for sharing this great deal!

Since my last post, I've...

• gotten to see Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly on their Bold, Fresh Tour.  I'm more of a Beck fan, and DH is more of an O'Reilly fan, so it was the perfect show for us.  DH had splurged and gotten us great seats, right on the floor in the front section.  We never do things like that-- too expensive-- so this was a real treat.   The kids spent the night with my sister since we were in her city, so we went out for our favorite wings afterwards- it was a great date night!
• gone on a mini-vacation with the family for the weekend.  We picked the kids up the next morning from my sister's and carried on with our fun weekend. We toured a cave, tried a local restaurant, and spent several hours at a kid's place with a 3-story indoor climbing area & go-karts. Fun times!
• celebrated my baby boy's 4th birthday.  His choice: family lunch at a local fast food place with a play area.  Future post on the last-minute frugal themed cake to come soon! 
• spent some time with our neighbors.  Their 3 year-old was just diagnosed this week with Type I Diabetes, the same as my daughter.  We've talked a lot about the theory that something in the environment triggers this disease.  :(   I'm hoping our family can be a real help to them as they work their way through this scary new world. 
• worked.  A lot.  Among the time-consuming things at work: we threw a luau for the residents two nights ago.  They loved it. 
• with all of that... on top of normal life... I've just had no time for blogging or reading blogs. I'm trying to do some catch-up today since it's so hot outside! 

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.

Menu Plan- The Hardly-Cookin'-at-All Edition

This is a really unusual week for me in terms of menu planning- my DH is on vacation, so we've got a lot of fun plans this week.  And, we're eating out THREE times... we never do that!  :)

• MONDAY: dinner out with friends
• TUESDAY: my crockpot Italian chicken (chicken tenders in Italian dressing with parsley, garlic pepper, & other random spices) topped with cheese, over rotitini pasta, steamed California mixed veggies  (didn't get to this one last week)
• WEDNESDAY: dinner out at the ball game
• THURSDAY:  steak fajitas (cooked in crockpot with salsa & taco seasoning) with veggies & salad
• FRIDAY: dinner out- date night - kids eating with my sister's family
• SATURDAY: homemade pizza -- using whatever toppings we're in the mood for that day & maybe this new recipe: Pizza Hut Style Breadsticks, salad  *We often do homemade pizza on Saturdays. This bread stick recipe has been on the menu plan for WEEKS now, but we never seem to have time to make it! I keep listing it in my menu plan to remind myself to try it.  :)

Check out more menus or share your own at Menu Plan Monday!

Protecting Your Children's Photos Online

Online privacy is a big issue.  As a blogger, I like to share things about my family.  As a cop's wife, I want to maintain our privacy.  As someone who knows for a fact that someone was hunting for our family online, I'm probably a little more careful that most.  Blogging is a fine balancing act for me-- sharing details without sharing enough that someone could identify us without a lot more work. 

I don't use photos of my kids here.  Period.  There are many times when I've considered it, or when I've wanted to share an especially cute shot, but I don't, because I know what can happen. 

Today, I read yet another story about a mom's photos of her child being stolen and used on a commercial site.  This particular site wasn't "adult" in nature, but if you read through the comments, you'll find that some are.  Ugh.  This isn't the first time I've read about this, and I'm sure it won't be the last.

If you do post photos of your kids, please, at minimum, use a watermark.  You can use any photo editing software to simply write your name across the photo, or, you can easily create a nice watermark using a free program. 

You can also add "no right click" coding to your blog, which blocks people from being able to copy your stuff easily.  (More advanced computer folks can get around the code.)  You can find details on that here.

What do you think?  Do you feel safe in sharing personal photos?

Menu Plan Monday 6/7

Everything on the menu this week is tried and true... meaning I've made all these recipes before (with the exception of the bread sticks) and I know my family likes them.    I'm also cleaning out the pantry/ freezer, so there are fewer chicken meals than usual.

• MONDAY: chicken patties on buns (with buffalo sauce for the adults), baked potato wedges, carrots & celery
• TUESDAY: Streamlined Chimichangas, mexicorn, tossed salad

This is my photo of Streamlined Chimichangas, also posted on the RecipeZaar site.
• WEDNESDAY: my crockpot Italian chicken (chicken tenders in Italian dressing with parsley, garlic pepper, & other random spices) topped with cheese over rotitni pasta, steamed broccoli
• THURSDAY:  sausage melts on buns, sweet potato baked fries, tossed salad
• FRIDAY: my Crockpot Pepper Steak, rice, green beans
• SATURDAY: homemade pizza -- using whatever toppings we're in the mood for that day & maybe this new recipe: Pizza Hut Style Breadsticks, salad  *We often do homemade pizza on Saturdays. This bread stick recipe has been on the menu plan for WEEKS now, but we never seem to have time to make it! I keep listing it in my menu plan to remind myself to try it.  :)

Check out more menus or share your own at Menu Plan Monday!

Hearts Awakening by Delia Parr

Hearts Awakening by Delia Parr

From the publisher: "With no means to support herself, Ellie Kilmer agrees to work as a housekeeper for the young widower who lives on Dillon Island, hopeful she can obtain a proper reference." 

Instead, she finds herself in a most unlikely marriage... but can this strange situation really work?  This is the question that makes up the story of Ellie and her legal husband, Jackson.

This was pleasant, light reading- just the kind of book I enjoy reading after a long day.  I enjoyed the story, and even though the ending was predictable, that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book.  Ellie's unwavering faith in God affects everything she does, even when things don't appear to be going well.  This makes her an interesting, yet realistic, character as she prays through some unusual situations.

I received my copy of this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review through their book reviewer program.

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  
You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.

It's Not You, It's Me

If you read my blog in a feed reader, you're going to notice some wonky things with the post dates tonight.  I've had some half finished posts sitting here, and when finished tonight, they published under the dates on which they were originally meant to post... make sense?  LOL.  We'll now return to your regularly scheduled programming.  :)

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.

The Last Christian by David Gregory

In the future, it’s possible to live forever—but at what cost?

A.D. 2088.
Missionary daughter Abigail Caldwell emerges from the jungle for the first time in her thirty-four years, the sole survivor of a mysterious disease that killed her village. Abby goes to America, only to discover a nation where Christianity has completely died out. A curious message from her grandfather assigns her a surprising mission: re-introduce the Christian faith in America, no matter how insurmountable the odds.

In this fast-paced thriller, startling near-future science collides with thought-provoking religious themes to create a spell-binding "what-if?" novel.

When I read that except from the back cover, I thought  The Last Christian sounded like my kind book- a blend of Christian fiction and sci-fi.  I wasn't disappointed.  The characters were believable, and the plot, while set in a futuristic society, seemed plausible.  Abby's struggle to fulfill her mission in this strange new world kept me interested, and the hi-tech developments (or are they abominations?) in the future world really piqued my curiosity. This was easily the best Christian Sci-Fi book I've read yet.

You can download the first chapter of the book for free HERE, or you can see the video trailer for the book HERE.

This book was provided to me in exchange for my honest review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. 

This post may contain sponsored reviews or affiliate links.  
You can read my policy here. I always provide my honest opinions.