Iowahippiechick

1. Zen Habits has an awesome freebie, in the form of a free Ebook titled, Thriving on Less - Simplifying in a Tough Economy.  Click here to preview the table of contents and access the download page.
2. There’s a choice with this freebie from Quaker Oats.  You may pick either Quakes Rice Snacks or Quaker Mini Delights.  Click here to make your yummy decision.
3. Sign up to receive the Eat Better America e-newsletter and receive a free booklet with $10 in coupon savings, helpful tips, and healthy recipes.
4. Rachel Ray Nutrish Dog food sample … click here.
5. Orville Redenbacher’s Natural microwave popcorn sample … click here.
6. A free subscription to Art in America magazine … click here.

Shifting gears - I need to do some personal updating:

I’ll start with my health.  I had my surgery this past Monday morning and it went very well.  My surgeon removed the cyst and organs without any leaks, nicks, or tears.  Which will be very helpful if the pathology comes back not so good!  By Tuesday afternoon I was on my way home to recuperate - our insurance will only pay for 23 hours of hospital stay. We also received 7 and 1/2 inches of snow that night - as well as hitting all time record temperature lows.  COLD, COLD, COLD!  It did take me a couple of days to bounce back from the anesthetic - but I am feeling a lot better today.  A big thanks to all my blogging friends who sent prayers and well wishes my way … I appreciate it so much!

I also need to do some blog housekeeping - in regards to Carnivals and Awards:

1. Advice for Women from Women ~ A carnival that included my post … A Frugal Living Reflection.  Click here to check out all the terrific posts.
2. Colloquium’s ~ Carnival of Family Life included my post … I”ve Been Thinking About What Suze Orman Said.  Click here to check out all the inspiring posts.
   

JT Locke from The Frugal Housewife nominated me for The Lemonade Award.

Thanks so much for the link love and recognition JT - I really appreciate it!!! 

Check out her website … it is absolutely AWESOME!

Kelly from 30somethingandsearching nominated me for the I Love Your Blog Award.

Thanks so much for the link love and recognition Kelly ~ I appreciate it so much! 

Please check out Kelly’s blog … it’s so much fun and a terrific read!

Have a terrific weekend - And Stay Warm!

dawn @ iowahippiechick

personal finance

Suze Orman has joined forces with TD Ameritrade and they’ve created a sweet deal to encourage SAVING money.  The offer is:

1. Open a new TD Ameritrade (non-retirement) account by 12/31/08.
2. Fund it with 12 consecutive monthly automatic electronic deposits of $100 or more.
3. At the end of the 12 months - they will give you $100 free money.
4. Get paid to save!
5. Click on the www.saveyourself.com link to get more detailed information.

(F.Y.I.)
I found a couple of interesting websites for the gamers in the house … They’re swap sites.  Get what you want - swap what you don’t!  Especially since you’ll be saving all your extra cash instead of buying video games.  (They actually do swap a lot more items than just video games.)  Here they are:

1. Swaptree.com -  Which has a rating system for members on the condition of their games, cd’s, and books. 
2. Zwaggle.com - A huge variety of items to swap.  Plus you can donate items to charity.  (It’s almost the end of they tax year … Maybe you could get some more charitable donations in?)

Finally - Check out the 155th Festival of Frugality  that’s going on over at Greener Pastures: Personal Finance .  (They included a post by me!)

Have a terrific day!

dawn @ iowahippiechick

My friend Free From Broke is hosting the 182nd Carnival of Personal Finance this week.  His ‘Don’t Go Broke Over The Holidays Edition ‘ couldn’t be timed more perfectly … (with 17 more days until the big event!)

My favorite posts from the Carnival:

1. Almost Frugal writes - How Old Are You Financially? 
2. The Digerati Life writes - The Best Coupon Sites For Online Shoppers.
3. SquawkFox writes - 8 Homemade Gifts In A Jar (with free printable gift tags.)
4. Pecuniarities writes - Two Natural and Economical Ways To Shed Dry Winter Skin.

My goodness there is SO MUCH excellent information in this edition of the carnival - you’ve got to click on the link and check it out!

Free From Broke is one of my very favorite personal finance bloggers.  He and his wife are growing their family (two young children) with a lot of love - in one of the most expensive cities in the country (New York City).  He writes very smart, yet digestible by those of us without MBA’s. 

Free From Broke is in my reader - and it should be in yours too!

Have a terrific day!

dawn @ iowahippiechick

My finds this week include:

• 1.) Sign up to receive a free sticker by Shepard Fairey, the artist who designed the Obama “Hope” poster.  Click here to get Shepard’s Yes We Did - Victory sticker.  Don’t wait too long … they are going fast!
• 2.) Click here - to sign up to receive, a free $5.00 off coupon for a bag of Hills Science Diet Pet Food.
• 3.) Glad Food Storage Bag sample - click here to receive one.
• 4.) Pedigree Good Bites Snacks - click here to order one for your pet.
• 5.) A buy one entree/get one free coupon for TGI Fridays - click here for a link to the coupon.
• 6.) Buy any two Post-it Products, and get $5.00 in McDonald’s gift certificates.  Click here for rebate form.

I also wanted to let you know about the 2nd Carnival of Financial Resources - which can be viewed at The Financial Wellness Project.  There are a lot of interesting posts, from a variety of personal finance bloggers!

Have a terrific day!

iowahippiechick

One of the smartest things we can do to improve our finances, as well as our quality of life, is  by getting fit & healthy.

Brandon over at Fitbuff.com, is here to help us on our path to fit & fabulous - By hosting the Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog Carnival#72 .

(A ‘blog carnival’ means it has a fantastic collection of relevant articles from a variety of blogs & their authors).

The Total Mind and Body Fitness Blog Carnival #72 - Categories Include:

• Brain Power - My favorite post, “Why Do People Hate Fat People?”
• Exercise - My favorite post, “A Quick 15-Minute Workout At Home That Works!“
• Money - My favorite post, “How To Become A Millionaire And Get Rich In 10 Steps.“
• Nutrition - My favorite posts include, “11 Guidelines For Eating Healthy,“  “The Connection Between Health And Personal Growth,”  “Want To Get Healthy And Earn Some Cash Too?“
• Sex - My favorite post, “Green Sex Secrets.”
• Stress - My favorite post, “Turning Our Situations From Frightening To Enlightening.”
• Work - My favorite post, “Becoming A Nursery Assistant.”
• Dating - My favorite post, “Trade Unions.”

My thanks go out to Brandon for hosting the carnival - 

Have a terrific day!

iowahippiechick