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Here's What's New - Organic Valley Milk, YoKids, Honest Kids, and Annie’s Homegrown coupons
- Free ebooks: Taste of Home Summer Slow Cooker Recipes, Making Soap From Scratch, and Simple Fitness Solutions for Busy People
- Giveaways Galore!
- Swagbucks Got My Business Started
- Toys “R” Us: Crayola Crayons for just $0.25!
- Papa John’s: 50% Off Any Large Regular-Priced Pizza
- Do It Yourself: Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent
- Target: FREE Lindt Chocolate Bars after coupons
- Walgreens: Almay Eye Shadow for just $0.99 after coupons
- Smokey Bones: $10 off $20 coupon
- Get the 2013 Killer Tribes Audio Package for just $9 through Thursday!
- Gluten-Free Coupons & Deals
- Printable coupons: NESTLE, Sundown Vitamins, Revlon, Tyson
- Target: Deals for the week of July 14-20, 2013
- Get Family Handyman magazine for $5.99 per year
- Dollar General: Deals for the week of July 14-20, 2013
- Free Preschool Calendar Notebook Pages
- Give Them Something Great to Imitate
- 10 Guaranteed Ways to Never Run Out of Blog Post Ideas (#1)
- This Week’s Very Simple Oven-Free Menu
There are four high-value organic coupons available from Rock the Lunch Box when you share them: Thanks, Kerri!    Related Stories 
Of the 2,865 entries, the winners of the Homemaker’s Friend 2013-2014 Daily Planner are: Joy (corlibri@)
Laura (kydpook@)
Tracy (tracysmolsnik@)
Pam (Pakaturn@)
Jenifer (helselediting@)
Rhonda (behappy016@)
Deborah (riley.d.l@)
Tracey (lantytracey@)
Amy (mypatzer@) Of the 3,522 entries, the winners of the $50 DaySpring Credit are: Lisa (lyzaloo@)
Dawn (dachmith@)
Kayla (kaylaherrera@)
Tracy (tracy.selle@)
Stephanie (sdakin105@) Each of you should have received an email with further instructions on claiming your prize. _____________  Are you giving something away on your blog this week? If so, post your link below and let all the readers here know so they can get in on the action! Your giveaway must be family-friendly and no-strings-attached. In addition, to make it easy to navigate, your link must go directly to your giveaway post. Links going to the homepage of your blog or any other part of your blog besides the direct link to your giveaway post will be deleted. Links left solely for the purpose of promoting an affiliate link will also be deleted.
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Today's Swagbucks success story is from Elise who blogs at FrugalFarmWife.com: I’ve enjoyed making soap for our own use as well as for gift-giving for quite some time. Recently however, I began toying with the idea of starting an artisan soap business. There are a lot of this soap makers out there however, and we weren’t really sure how successful the venture might be. So unfortunately, we couldn’t justify taking money for start-up supplies out of our already meager budget. The idea was firmly in my head though, and I just couldn’t let it go. It just seemed so logical for someone with extra goat milk on hand to make and sell goat milk soap! For years, I’ve used Swagbucks for purchasing diapers, birthday gifts, and books, most of the time by exchanging them for Amazon.com gift cards. But recently, I’d been letting them pile up, not sure what to do with them. So I started looking at supplies like lye and essential oils, and as it turns out, everything I needed could be found through Amazon.com! I got to work right away, exchanging Swagbucks for gift cards and ordering my supplies. Thanks to Swagbucks, I now have a fledgling, profitable, soap-making business selling in artisan markets, and am working on opening my own etsy shop. I can honestly say that if it weren’t for Swagbucks, I’d still be collecting pennies for that first sodium hydroxide purchase. Elise is a farmer’s wife and mom blogger who loves making things from scratch, living “off the land”, all things health and fitness, goat keeping, cloth diapers, and writing. You can read about her adventures at FrugalFarmWife.com.
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A number of you were asking yesterday if Crayola crayons were going to go down to $0.25 this back to school season. Well, I’m hearing multiple reports from around the country that Toys “R” Us has 24-count Crayola Crayons on sale for $0.25 per box through July 20, 2013! 
It looks like this is an unadvertised deal at many stores and I can’t guarantee that it will be at your store, but definitely call and check if this is a deal you’re interested in. You must purchase in quantities of 4 to get the deal. There is a limit of 8 boxes of crayons per customer. Note: These would be great to purchase for the Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes!
Thanks, Clip with Purpose!  Related Stories 
Are you in the process of building a blog or business? If so, you’ll want to JUMP on this offer. Because it’s crazy… and by that, I mean it’s crazy good! For the next two days only, my friend Bryan Allain is offering the entire audio package from the 2013 Killer Tribes Conference for just $9 to my readers when you use coupon code MSM at checkout. Yes, seriously. 
I was privileged to have the opportunity to attend and speak at this conference this year and, let me tell you, it was fantastic. I don’t say that lightly. Truly, my husband and I were blown away by the caliber of the speakers at Killer Tribes and would highly recommend this event — and the audio. In fact, as soon as Bryan released the audio, my husband bought the package (paying a lot more than $9 for it!) because he felt it was so valuable and wanted to listen to it again — and have his assistant listen to it, as well. 
The 2013 Killer Tribes Audio Package features: - 7 keynote sessions (including mine on The 5 Be’s of Building Your Tribe — I shared some behind-the-scenes blogging stories that you might find really interesting — especially if you’ve been reading here for awhile!)
- 3 breakout sessions
- 2 panel discussions
- Plus, Bryan is throwing in 3 bonus files: an interview with me from last year, an interview with Jon Acuff from 2011, and a PDF of his latest little book, This is NOT a Treasure Map.
- It’s a total of over 7 hours of audio content, plus the ebook!
This audio package retails for $59 right now, but if you use coupon code MSM at checkout, you’ll get $50 off the price, making it just $9! I told you it was a good deal! This offer is only valid through Thursday, July 18, 2013. So if you’re interested in getting this, don’t delay.  Related Stories 
Here are the best gluten-free coupons and deals, thanks to Janelle from Gluten Freely Frugal: Gluten-Free Coupons: $1.00 off Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Iced Coffee, $1/1 Canyon Bakehouse Gluten-Free product, $1/1 Black Pearls Olives 4.8 ounces or larger, $1.25/1 Sabra Hummus, $0.75/1 Lundberg Packaged Rice, $1.50/2 Mary’s Gone Crackers products, $1/1 Honey Melt Organic Spread, and $1.50/2 Zevia 6-packs. Save 50% on Go Picnic Ready-to-Eat Meals: Groupon has a nice deal where you can purchase a $40 Voucher to GoPicnic for just $19! GoPicnic makes portable, ready-to-eat meals and snacks with no refrigeration or prep needed; 500 calories or fewer with gluten-free, vegan, kosher options. Just head over to Groupon and purchase your $40 voucher, then head over to GoPicnic to snag your goodies! 
Save 46% on Kay's Naturals Pretzel Sample Pack: Gluten-Free Saver is offering an exclusive Kay's Pretzel Sample Pack created for Gluten-Free Saver customers. You can try this special pack for $46% off the retail price. Pay just $9 for the sample pack ($16 value). Shipping is included! All products are egg-free, kosher, and certified gluten-free by the GFCO. Included in your Pretzel Sample Pack are (2) 1.2. oz bags of Jalapeno Honey Mustard Pretzel Sticks; (2) 1.2 oz bags of Cinnamon Toast Pretzel Stick; and (2) 1.2 oz bags of Original Pretzel Sticks. $15 for a $30 Lucky Vitamin Voucher: Amazon Local is offering a $30 voucher to LuckyVitamin.com for just $15! Lucky Vitamin is an online drugstore that sells lots of vitamins and supplements, health foods, and gluten-free baking supplies. With this Groupon, you pay $15 for a $30 voucher to spend on LuckyVitamin.com. Shipping is free on most orders over $49 at Lucky Vitamin. 
Sweet Potato Popchips $0.57/Bag Shipped: Amazon Warehouse currently has the Popchips, Sweet Potato, 0.8-Ounce Single Serve Bags (Pack of 24) priced at $13.60 and eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping! That equals out to approximately $0.57 per bag shipped! This is a Warehouse deal, so quantities are limited. Free Essential Grocery Guide + Free Month from Taste Guru: TasteGuru is a gluten-free subscription service. Each month, they put together a box of fabulous gluten-free goodies and ship them right to your door (shipping is always included)! Even better, right now you can score a FREE month when you sign up! Plus, to make the deal even sweeter, when you sign up for a 6-month or 12-month plan, you will also snag a FREE Triumph Dining Essential Gluten-Free Grocery Guide! Janelle is wife to Brad, who is celiac, and mom to 2 sweet girls, one of whom is celiac, and the other showing signs of gluten intolerance. She blogs about the gluten free life on a budget, including coupons, deals, recipes, and other money-saving tips at Gluten Freely Frugal.
 Related Stories  Today only, you can get a one year subscription to Family Handyman magazine for only $5.99 per year when you use coupon code MONEYSAVING at checkout. You can order up to three years at this price.
About The Family Handyman magazine: Family Handyman magazine is for people who take an active interest in home improvement, yard and garden care, maintenance and repair, and remodeling. Family Handyman also features information on woodworking, auto maintenance, energy efficiency, and decorating. This offer expires tonight 07/16/13 11:59 PM EST. Are you looking for other magazine titles? You can use coupon code MONEYSAVING to save 20% off of most titles at DiscountMags! (Note: The link in this post is my referral link. Read my disclosure policy here.)  Related Stories 
Here are the best deals at Dollar General this week, with thanks to Anna from Dollar Store Deals for her help with compiling these:
GE Soft White Longer Life Light Bulbs (4 pk) – $1.50
Use $2/1 peelie coupon
Free after coupon Buy 2 participating General Mills Cereals or Nature Valley Granola Bars or Thins and 1 gallon White Milk, Get $3 off Instantly General Mills Cereals – $3
Use $0.50/1 e-coupon
Or use $0.75/1 peelie coupon
As low as $2.25 after coupon Nature Valley Granola Bars or Thins (6 ct or higher) – $2.95
Buy 2 and use $0.50/2 printable
Or use $0.50/1 coupon from the 6/23 SmartSource insert
As low as $2.45 each after coupon Kool-Aid Jammers Juice Drink (10 pk) – $2
Use $0.75/1 Ibotta rebate
$1.25 after coupon Kool-Aid; Country Time; Tang; Crystal Light Drink Mix (6-10 qt) – $2
Buy 2 and use $1/2 printable
$1.50 each after coupon Tidy Cats 24/7 Conventional Litter (10 lbs) – $2.25
Use $1/1 coupon from the 4/28 SmartSource insert
Or buy 2 and use $3/2 coupon from the 4/28 SmartSource insert
As low as $1.25 each after coupon Clover Valley Coffee Creamer – $1 See the full list of deals at Dollar General this week here.
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Last week, one of my children made a really negative comment out of the blue. It caught me off guard and I immediately got ready to launch into a dissertation on why we don't say things like that. But right before I opened my mouth to give my big speech, I realized something: this child had heard a very similar comment from me recently. No, it wasn't a comment I made to them or even when I had realized they were listening, but nonetheless, I had said it and I'm pretty much positive that's where this child picked it up from. Ouch. My children are watching. My children are listening. My children are observing. 
It’s been wisely said that more is caught than taught. What are my children going to “catch” from me today? Enthusiasm for learning? Grace for difficult people? Grumbling about interruptions? Critical words toward others? - If I want my children to have clean rooms, I need to do more than just tell them to keep their room clean. I need to set an example by keeping my room clean, too.
- If I want my children to be wise with money, I need to do more than just talk about the importance of financial freedom and stewardship. I need to set an example by practicing good money management skills in front of them.
- If I want my children to be respectful of other people — no matter who they are, I need to do more than just verbalize how imperative it is that we show respect. I need to set an example by constantly being respectful in my words and deeds for everyone I come in contact with.
- If I want my children to use their time wisely instead of squandering it, I need to do more than just remind them often to use their minutes well. I need to set an example of diligence and focus in my own time management.
I will never be a perfect parent. In fact, there is no such thing. I need God’s grace every moment of every day as a mother. I struggle. I make mistakes. I have to ask forgiveness. But in spite of my inadequacies, I want to do my best to give my children something great to imitate. Because at the end of the day, my children are going to learn more from the life I'm living before them than from the dissertations I give them. photo credit  Related Stories 
"How do you come up with post ideas?" A few weeks ago, I was with one of my dear blogging friends and she asked me this question. She went on to explain how she wants to blog more often, but she struggles to come with inspiration for what she should post. Honestly, I've never really thought about the how behind coming up with ideas. In fact, I usually have many more ideas than I have space and time to write. But her question really got me to thinking about what fuels my blogging inspiration. And as I've mulled over it the past few weeks, I came up with a number of things that I find help me to always have post ideas and inspiration. Since this is a question I've been asked before, I thought I'd share my list with you all in hopes that it might spark some ideas for those of you who are feeling like you're in a blogging slump. I had initially planned to share this as one post, but it got so long that I decided to break it up and just share one idea per week day for the next two weeks so that it was easier to read — and not some massively long and impossible-to-read-in-one-sitting post! #1 Live Vibrantly {Offline} A vibrant offline life will fuel your online creativity. Make sure you have a healthy balance of face-to-face interaction with friends, family fun {that you don't blog or tweet about}, and media-free time blocks in your day. I can't tell you any hard and fast rules on this, because what is healthy for one person might be unhealthy for another. I can say, however, that if your brain is constantly trying to conjure up a blog post from every experience or if the only reason you ever plan a party or do an activity with your kids or bake anything is only so you can blog about it, you probably need to step back and re-evaluate. One of the best decisions we made when I first started blogging was that I would take Sundays off from blogging/social media. I've found that I often have to unplug in order to recharge. Stepping away from the online noise once a week clears my head and helps me to remember what matters. Real-Life Example #1: The Circus Post Some of my best posts come as the result of getting offline and just living life. I'll be in the middle of real-life and a post just comes and smacks me right between the eyes. Such was the case with the post I wrote after we went to the circus. As soon as the whole episode happened, the analogy came to me. I told Jesse about it as we were walking to the car and he thought it was a great idea for a blog post. So I emailed myself a few random sentences on my phone in the car on the way home and then wrote the post, Whining For a Shiny Plastic Toy, when I had time a few days later. To be continued tomorrow… How do you maintain a healthy balance between your online life & your offline life? I’d love to hear!  If you are struggling to find a healthy balance between your online and offline life, I highly recommend Sarah Mae’s new ebook, The Unwired Mom.
I read it recently and found that it was packed with great suggestions, practical tips, and a lot of motivation and inspiration to not become too consumed with online activities and miss the life to be lived and blessings to be had right in our own homes and communities.
 
We’ve got a full week this week: swimming lessons every day, a family night at the rodeo, a visit with two dear out-of-town blogging friends & their children, a speaking engagement, a field trip, appointments, and a trip to Kansas City to meet up with more dear out-of-town blogging friends for a few days. Needless to say, so we’re keeping our menu really simple again.  Breakfasts Oatmeal, Omelets, Cereal, Eggs, Peanut Butter Toast, and/or Fruit Lunches Mac & cheese, fruit
Snack-y lunch {Veggies, cheese, yogurt, fruit, crackers}
PB&J, carrot sticks, apples
Cheese quesadillas, carrot sticks
Leftovers x 3 Snacks Fruit/veggies
Popcorn
Boiled eggs
Smoothies Dinners Breakfast for dinner: Pancakes, scrambled eggs, fruit
BLT Sandwiches, fruit, chips
Grilled fish, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, fruit
Turkey Burgers, steamed veggies, mashed potatoes, fruit salad
Dinner with extended family
Dinner out x 2 {While we're traveling.} What's on your menu this week? Tell us in the comments or leave a link to your menu plan post.  Related Stories | | |
to download a free application that enables you to read Kindle ebooks on your PC.
Do you have a fun and frugal DIY idea to share? I’d love to hear about it! Read the submission guidelines and submit it 
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