Make a Friend Monday...

Welcome to the Make a Friend Monday blog hop, I hope everyone had a great weekend! Monday is usually a day filled with things that are not much fun, so why not take a short break and get to know a new blogger?

The rules are simple, stop by the featured bloggers site and say hi, the check out as many of the other blogs as you like, let them know you found them here. Just grab the hop button for your blog or post from the bottom of this post or the sidebar. Link up and have fun meeting new folks.

MAKE A FRIEND MONDAY

Today's fellow blogger is Bridget from  Being Frugal and Making it Work.  I so enjoy reading Bridget's blog every day and if you enjoy contests than this is definitely a place to stop!  She is always hosting give aways and has a lot of wonderful product reviews.  I have found some great stuff because of her posts.  I hope you will stop over, say hi and join her in the fight to save some money.  Her blog is so informative and if you enjoy saving money you will surly enjoy meeting her.

Tell us a little about yourself and your blog or blogs:  I am a stay-at-home mom, wife and blogger! Being frugal and crafty is how I help make ends meet and contribute to my family. I earn money through social networking, pay to earn sites as well as contests and giveaways. All of these "extras" have really helped our family over the years. It doesn't take much to make a big difference. My frugal ways of online earnings have paid for our summer vacations the past three years in a row, and will do so again this year. It doesn't get much better than a totally free vacation. My blog, Being Frugal and Making it Work, is my way of keeping grounded and sharing what I do with you!

What do you consider your greatest personal achievement?  Becoming a mother, hands down!

Where is your favorite place to hang out on the Internet? Blogs, there is so much to read, I love them! I also love Facebook!

If you could meet one person dead or alive, who would that be? Wow, that's a tough one! I honestly have no idea! However, my son says that I would choose "The Rock," because I think he's HOT! Ha Ha Ha!!

If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be? I already have it! Being a mom and a wife is the best job in the world!

Favorite movie or TV show? Parenthood and Breakout Kings are my favorite TV shows! My favorite moves are Dirty Dancing and Beauty and The Beast!

<center><a href="http://couponqueensthrone.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="150" width="150" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xiPGwEXqj14/TzcsDvw_gJI/AAAAAAAABgg/UaWe6XkGYNs/s170/friend_monday.jpg" alt="Living on Less with the Coupon Queen" /></a></center>

Not sure where to start..

I know I have folks who are wondering what is going on lately, like my beautiful Sister-In-Law Mary, who knew something was up because it was always Monday on my blog (I told her I am going to call her Nancy Drew from now one).  So, its time to crawl out of my funk and let you all in on what is going on.  I went in to my Dr. when I felt a lump on my breast, and after a subsequent mammogram, ultra sound, needle biopsy and 4 days of nervous waiting since it was a weekend I finally got the results back last Tuesday.  I was positive for stage one non aggressive breast cancer.   As horrible news goes, it was the best scenario since it was caught early and is non aggressive.  I have spend the last week meeting with my Dr. a couple of times and my surgeon to go over options.  This week I have an MRI appointment, Radiological consult and another appointment with my regular Doctor for pre-surgical stuff. 

I know I could have just come out and said I have some medical issues to deal with, but I wanted to get this message out to everyone ~ my tumor did NOT show up on a mammogram, only the ultrasound picked it up.  I am diligent about my breast health because my maternal grandmother had it as well as my mother, it runs in the woman of our family.  If you notice ANYTHING unusual let your Doctor know right away, DO NOT WAIT!  I am at stage one because I didn't wait, and I know that a mammogram is only a tool, it is not a definitive answer.  More and more breast cancer is being cured not just because of the great strides in the medical field, but because woman are becoming more and more aware of what they need to do to advocate for them selves.  Never be afraid to speak up!

I have a wonderful blogger set up for next weeks Make a Friend Monday, I feel bad for putting her off for a week but wanted to get the word out on what was going on.  I will also probably have Bernie from One Mixed Bag do a guest post or two for me while I am out of commission following surgery.  If anyone else would like to do a post feel free to let me or Bernie know.

Thank you so much for your patience while I wrapped my head around a huge change in my life, I really appreciate it.

Michele

Make a Friend Monday...

Welcome to the Make a Friend Monday blog hop, I hope everyone had a great weekend! Monday is usually a day filled with things that are not much fun, so why not take a short break and get to know a new blogger?

The rules are simple, stop by the featured bloggers site and say hi, the check out as many of the other blogs as you like, let them know you found them here. Just grab the hop button for your blog or post from the bottom of this post or the sidebar. Link up and have fun meeting new folks.

MAKE A FRIEND MONDAY

Today's blogger is Melissa from The Mommyhood Chronicles.  I came across Melissa's blog a few months back when I was trying to find a fun hop for Saturday, I found her link on a hop library, stopped over and had a great chuckle; every Saturday she hosts a hop called Saturday's Top 5 Laughs where she shares five great stories from her week.  Usually they are something her kids did that is fun or silly, and believe me they do the most adorable things!!  During the week she does product reviews that are wonderful.  She is a great writer and her blog is one of my stops every day.  Hope you enjoy getting to know her as much as I have.

Tell us a little about yourself and your blog or blogs: I am a part time dentist as well as a blogger at www.the-mommyhood-chronicles.com. I started this blog strictly for family and decided to make it public August 1, 2011. My blog focuses on stories on my 2 kids- Hayley who is 3.5 and Zane who will be 1 on March 31. I also do a lot of product reviews/giveaways, as well as a Saturday blog hop for any funny/cute/top 5 laughs of the week. I am really enjoying blogging!

What do you consider your greatest personal achievement? Graduating dental school and getting my DMD

Where is your favorite place to hang out on the Internet? on blogs, lol and facebook

If you could meet one person dead or alive, who would that be? probably my grandfather who I never got to meet. He passed away 1 week before I was born.

If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be? I have it!

Favorite movie or TV show? Lost and Primal Fear

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Silly Saturday...

This week I also received the Sunshine award from Just Another Tired Mommy, I must admit, I do love getting them but I am a little slow on getting them posted. Here are the rules for the award:

There are five rules that go along with accepting The Sunshine Award and they are:

1. Include the award's logo in a post or on your blog.
2. Answer ten questions about yourself.

3. Nominate ten to twelve other fabulous bloggers.

4. Link your nominees to the post and comment on their blogs, letting them know that they have been nominated. (I just passed on two other awards so I am going to let you decide if you would like this beautiful award for your site, all my readers add sunshine to my blog every day so you all are equally entitled to it.)

5. Share the love and link the person who nominated you.

Here are the 10 questions:

What is your favorite color? Green in almost any shade.

What is your favorite animal? I love all animals I even let bugs and spiders out of my home with safe passage. If I am pressed I would probably say bunnies or bats.

Favorite non-alcoholic drink: I love to make my own Italian sodas at home, just a shot of flavored syrup and charged water, sooooo much cheaper than pop and a million times tastier.

Favorite number: Not sure I have one, I tend to pick 4 when people ask me to think of a number.

Facebook or Twitter: I use Facebook a lot and love Farmville.

My passion: Narrowing this down is hard. I love to travel, scrapbook and spend time with my friends, one of best things ever is traveling with my friends and taking tons of pictures to scrap latter. When I travel I love seeing new things and finding new favorite places, just this Christmas hubby and I went to Colonial Williamsburg and I would love to go back again this Christmas.

Favorite pattern: I love the pattern on the leaves of ferns, its something I have taken countless pictures of over the years. I also love the pattern birds feathers make when they are laying flat. Nature is so cool!

Favorite day of the week: I don't have one, they are all nice to me.

Favorite flower: I have a couple, peonies and carnations. I love the scent of both of them.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

C.Q.

Friday's Freebie...

I know "technically" this isn't free but its such an amazing deal I had to pass it along.  Yankee Candle currently has a coupon for a free large jar candle with the purchase of another large jar candle, this coupon is only good through March 11th.  If you don't live near a Yankee Candle you can check their products on their web site then call the customer service number at 1-877-803-6890 to place an order, mention coupon code FJ52.  The buy one get one free offer is only good on the large Housewarmer jars.

Have a great Friday!

C.Q.

Thursday's picture perfect deal...

The picture...

This White-lined Sphinx Hummingbird Moth was caught checking out my flowers in the back garden last year.  They are so fun to watch, and easy to spot since they are about 2 inches long.  They are one of the few moths that come out on nice sunny days.

The deal...

Perfume is one of my indulgences, but I don't have a "signature" scent, I love being able to change my perfume with my mood.  While its a great idea in theory, its not cheep. I buy scents I like when they are on a great sale or have a B.O.G.O. going in department stores, but for the most part I get them online. Today's discount is from one of my favorite places, FragranceNet.com.  I like this site because they always have great prices on the scents I use.  When you go to the site there will be a pop up box asking for your email, they will send you discounts in the future if you decide to enter your information there, it will also give you a 20% off discount code, the current one good until 3/13/12 is TGD2E.  While you are there be sure to visit the 50% off page for even more savings, and remember, there is free shipping on orders over $70.00.

Have a great day everyone.

C.Q.

Wednesday's learn and earn...

~WORD OF THE DAY~

bosky ~ \BAH-skee\  adjective

DEFINITION(s): 1: having abundant trees or shrubs  2: of or relating to a woods

EXAMPLES:As we drove away from the city, apartment buildings gave way to homes with yards, then at last to a bosky landscape dominated by tall pines.

"In 1863, when two brothers were abducted by armed gangsters and marched into a forest, their appeal to a local saint resulted in their abductors letting them go. Amusingly, though, the artist's skill extends only to the most crucial details: the blindfold, the guns, the bosky scene."—From an article by Jenny Gilbert in The Independent (London), November 20, 2011

DID YOU KNOW? "Bosk," "busk," "bush"—in Middle English these were all variant spellings of a word meaning "shrub." "Bush" is still familiar to the modern ear, and "busk" can still be heard in a few places in the dialects of northern Britain. "Bosk" too survived in English dialects, although it disappeared from the written language, and in the early 17th century it provided the root for the woodsy adjective "bosky." Since its formation, "bosky" has been firmly rooted in our language, and its widespread popularity seems to have resurrected its parental form. By 1815 "bosk" (also spelled "bosque") had reappeared in writing, but this time with the meaning "a small wooded area

Find more great words of the day at Merriam-Webster

~THE REBATE~

Kimberly-Clark has a nice rebate going until 3/31/12.  Get either $5 back with the purchase of $25 of products, or $10 cash back when you purchase $35 worth of select products.  You will need to mail in the completed rebate form together with the original cash register receipt with the qualifying purchases circled.  See the rebate form for participating brands, and for a full list of participating retailers send an email to fulfillment@jwtaction.com.  Allow 8 to 10 weeks for your rebate to arrive.

I hope you are all having a great Wednesday.

C.Q.

Make a Friend Monday...

Welcome to the Make a Friend Monday blog hop, I hope everyone had a great weekend! Monday is usually a day filled with things that are not much fun, so why not take a short break and get to know a new blogger?

The rules are simple, stop by the featured bloggers site and say hi, the check out as many of the other blogs as you like, let them know you found them here. Just grab the hop button for your blog or post from the bottom of this post or the sidebar. Link up and have fun meeting new folks.

MAKE A FRIEND MONDAY

Today's blogger is Meg S. Hart who's original blog I started reading about the same time I started blogging, at that time she was writing helping the REAL head of the house, a cat named Fin to write her blog; Housecat Confidential. I loved reading it every morning and as soon as I saw there was a book available at Amazon by the same name, written by the same dynamic duo, you can be sure I snapped that up! It was a wonderful read and is a view into a cats life from the view of the cat, so simple but so creative! Fin is now an old gal with some health issues now so Meg decided to "shake off the fur" as she puts it and go back to writing for herself (that's not to say that Fin doesn't help out on occasion). The title of the new blog is Hart Stories and I adore getting her blog in my email every morning because it usually makes me smile, and I am enjoying getting to know Meg the person, not just Meg the cat lady, I hope you enjoy meeting her as well.

Tell us a little about your blog: After three plus years as a cat blogger, I'm shaking off the fur and trying to find my own voice as a writer. Hope you'll join me. Life's like glitter, it's beautiful, it's messy and you never know where it's going to end up.

What do you consider your greatest personal achievement? I think it was getting my book Housecat Confidential published. Hopefully I will have lots more personal achievements.

Where is your favorite place to hang out on the Internet? I spend a lot of time on my Google Reader catching up on all my friends blogs. I also love Ebay. So amazing that any moment the very thing you never knew you needed is being abandoned by someone else. I also love Etsy. So amazing that at any moment some has made the very thing you never knew you needed.

If you could meet one person dead or alive, who would that be? I'd love to meet Oprah. In my mind I am the featured selection on her book club. Does she still have a book club? I may need to change up my big dream.

If you could have any job you wanted, what would it be? I would love to be a screenwriter, a well paid one. I am writing one now, but since no one has bought it yet, I don't think it quite fits.

Favorite movie or TV show? Gosh I love both so much it's hard to narrow down. On TV I love Dexter, and almost any show on Bravo. I am also ashamed to admit I am loving the Bachelor. I know, they all end so badly that it's like watching a train wreck but I can't help myself. In movies I like anything James Cameron did.

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Two new awards...

Today is my Birthday and I was trying to figure out if I was even going to do a post today or just be lazy, then I got a very sweet post from Beth Ann over at Its Just Life that she was awarding me two new awards.  *insert girly squeal here* FUN!  So here we go...

Kreativ Blogger Award Rules:

1. Link back to the one who gave you this award

2. Share 10 random facts about yourself

3. Pass the award on to 6 other people

4. Follow the persons blog who sent you it.

My 10 facts:

1) I recently started a blog hop and am really surprised at how fun it is to meet a new blogger each week.

2) I can trace my family tree back to Cork Ireland and visiting is on my bucket list.

3) My dream would be to live in Chicago, but its not gonna happen since hubby is a country boy and I don't want to have to keep him medicated ;-)

4) My dream job would be to own a small boutique hotel

5) My dad was a professional football player in the Pacific League; back when they wore leather helmets.

6) My favorite place to eat in the world is Lawry's ~ I don't care if its Dallas, LA or Chicago, OK, maybe I care a little, I do love Chicago.

7) I was lucky enough to go on a cruise with my folks in the 80s on the Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) before it was decommissioned on November 27th 2004, a day that made me actually cry.

8) I grew up with parents that lived by the rule "try it, if you don't like it you never have to eat it again" and to this day I will still love try new foods and am so grateful to them for this philosophy.

9) I have a little love affair with my camera and love photography.

10) I am very blessed to have several best friends that I can spend hours with.

The One Lovely Blog Award rules are:

1. Link back to the one who gave you this award.

2. pass the award on to 15 other lovely bloggers. (I know I only did 5, I am a trouble maker like that)

3. Follow the person who sent it to you.

I would like to do the same thing Beth Ann did because otherwise I will be stressing all day and pass this along to 5 fellow bloggers:

Colleen over at Shibley Smiles

Alicia over at McCrenshaw's Newest Thoughts

Melissa over at The Mommyhood Chronicles

Katie and Bernie over at the new community We're Not Mommy Blogs

Jenn over at The Thrift Shop Romantic

Thank you again to Beth Ann for thinking of me, it was such a lovely surprise today! :-)

C.Q.

Silly Saturday...

I hope you are all having a great weekend!

C.Q.

Friday's Freebie...

This Sunday, 3/3/12, you can get a free quart of Clark+Kensington paint at Ace Hardware, just print out the coupon and bring it in with you.  You will want to get there early, each store has about 40 quarts of paint to give out and when they're gone they're gone.  Depending on the shade of paint a quart will cover between 100 and 200 square feet, this would make it a great way to paint some trim in a room, do an accent wall or get busy with some fun wood craft projects.

Have a great day!

C.Q.

Thursday's picture perfect deal...

The picture...

My husband took this picture last year after a high wind off of Lake Superior.  The ice coats everything and makes it all look surreal.  After yesterdays storm we are going to go out and see if we can get some new cool shots of winter.

The deal...

Today's deal is from Spiegel, they are having a 60% off close out sale through the end of today, there are some fantastic buys so be sure to stop in today.

I hope you are all having a nice week.

C.Q.