Free ebook: 31 Days to Clean

One of my biggest personal struggles in being a wife/mommy is keeping my house clean. Sarah Mae from Like A Warm Cup of Coffee has written an ebook called "31 Days to Clean: A Martha House the Mary Way" and is giving away free copies to anyone who posts about it on their blog, facebook, or twitter. After you have shared this book with your friends, email Sarah Mae the link to it, and she will email you a copy of the book! (this offer expires tonight at 12midnight, EST)

I have so much to learn about keeping my home clean!

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Book Review: "Out of a Far Country"

I first met the author, Christopher Yuan, at Moody Bible Institute where we were both students together, and had many mutual friends. I quickly came to know him as a man who loved to laugh, sing with his whole heart in the gospel choir, passionately serve those who didn't know the Lord, as well as slow down to sit and listen intently to a fellow student. During my time at Moody, he shared with his fellow students bits and pieces of his past story, and continually testified to the power of God's desire to redeem all individuals. There's just no other way to describe Christopher as anything but passionate about seeing others come to know the love of Jesus Christ.

So my husband (also a fellow MBI student) and I were excited to read more of his story in his new book, "Out Of A Far Country" that he had co-authored with his mother, Angela Yuan. As I started the book, it seemed unreal to read the beginning chapters and try to compute that man with the Christopher we knew in college. What an amazing, incredible story of how God has the power to radically change a person's life! Before knowing Christ in a personal way, we are all selfish and seeking that what pleases us. After Christ, He steps in to start changing us from the inside out, transforming every believer's life to be more selfless and passionate of loving others. From the first page until the last, this book strongly carried the message of God's plan of redemption, seeking and saving all of us who were once lost!

The best way to capture the heart of this "Out of a Far Country" is from the following excerpt:
    "The story that is told in Out of a Far Country is a true account of God's seeking and saving two people who were lost (see Luke 19:10): a mother who was so distraught she had decided to kill herself, and a son whose pursuit of pleasure, money, and success led to arrest, prison, and a life-threatening illness. Both mother nd son hit bottom, and at different times they both turned to God. The changes in their lives are nothing short of miraculous." (pg. 205)

Please take a quick moment to rate this review here! I am new at reviewing books, and would love feedack via rankings!

Out of a Far Country was released on May 3rd, 2011. Right now you can order it on Amazon for $8.70 (list price $14.99).

"Out of a Far Country" is hands-down the best book I've requested and reviewed as part of Waterbrook Multnomah's "Blogging for Books" program.

* Disclosure: "I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, as part of their "Blogging for Books" program."

Book Review: Lillies in Moonlight

If you pick up "Lillies in Moonlight", be ready to enjoy a ride through America's Roaring 20's. The author, Allison Pittman, creatively takes her readers through various elements in the 1920's, giving a taste of some of the joys & struggles present in such a tumultuous time! Lilly, the main character, shows the new lifestyle being offered to young women throughout the country because of the women's liberation movement, and Cullen, another character, shows how during the "Roaring 20's" America was still a country recovering from the pain of a war (World War I). This is a great historical fiction, not getting bogged down in details, but staying true to the time period. Woven through the entire story is the ageless message of God's love for each and every person, and His desire to have a personal relationship with every individual. It gives a story of grace and redemption, love and forgiveness. I definitely enjoyed the book and recommend it to others who like historical fiction!

Lands' End: 30% off EVERYTHING plus FREE SHIPPING!!! (through 4/11)

Lands' End, an online clothing store, is offering 30% off everything storewide, plus free shipping, when you use  promo code "FAMILYSHARE" and pin "6319" at checkout. This applies even to their "Overstocks"  (clearanced items). I saw quite a few fantastic winter coats/jackets already marked 50% off, and this 30% would be on top of that. This offer expires Monday, April 11th.

I have been waiting to order a new pair of water shoes, and this was the perfect time! The Women's Mary Jane Water Shoes in Overstocks are only $11.15 shipped with this discount (normally $39.95). Can't wait to see if they fit!!! (there is a much larger selection for wide width, though...)

If you sign-up, or sign in, to Ebates, you can also earn 6% cashback at Landsend! (so sign in, then click on Landsend, which will open a new screen. Stay in they screen to make your selection, and purchase what you want... Ebates will track it and credit your account! New members automatically get $5 added to your account! Refer a friend, and both of you get $5*!)

I can vouch that Lands' End products are usually high quality and last a long time... I have been buying swimsuits, clothing, coats, winter accessories, and shoes from Lands' End for over 15 years. If you are dissastified for any reason, their customer service does an excellent job of replacing/returning an item. You can also return items directly to any Sears, saving yourself the return postage fee (several times I have ordered two sizes of something, then returned the size that didn't fit). I especially like the quality & modesty of many of their swimsuits... Even though the new ones can be pricey, they last several summers easily.


* Ebates offers a "Tell-A-Friend" program, giving both of you and your friend $5. So yes, that is my referral link posted above! Grab your referral link and start sharing with friends!

Groupon: $10 for $20 at CiCi's in Niles, OH

Head over to Groupon and snag today's local deal: $10 for $20 at CiCi's in Niles, OH, by Eastwood Mall. That definitely makes for a fun, budget-friendly family night out! Or a cheap hang-out night with three other friends if y'all all pitch in $2.50 instead of the usual $5. Remember, it usually takes 24hours to be able to print your groupon to take with you!

STAPLES: Free Ream of HP Multipurpose Paper after Rebate!!!

If you live near Staples, you can buy a ream (500 pages) of HP Multipurpose Paper for $5.99, with a $4.99 easy-rebate. Use the $1/1 any HP paper with ColorLok Technology from here, or print from your Swagbucks coupon bar to get an easy 10 swagbucks. And yep, I bought some paper yesterday, and it does have the ColorLok logo on it! I like the Staples Easy Rebates because you can fill them out online instead of having to mail them... There is a limit of 2 paper rebates per person!

Thanks, Money Saving Mom!

Book Review: "The Bridge of Peace"

As I started the book "Bridge of Peace" by Cindy Woodsmall, I expected a typical slow-paced novel about life in Amish country, with a few lazy twists & turns, a little conflict, a little romance... I quickly discovered this book was going to keep me on my toes, and I rarely wanted to put it down. The characters were very real, struggling through real life battles, or celebrating life victories. Once again I accidentally ordered a "book two" without realizing it, but that didn't matter much and I never really felt lost.

The author Cindy Woodsmall steps away from the usual Amish book, and instead of just introducing Amish life, actually invites the reader to step into Amish living for a short time. She exposes the reader to everything from the struggle of adjusting from the "English" to "Plain" life, heart struggles within the Amish about the strictness of the various bishops, to normal heart desires for marriage, quality relationships, family connections, etc... I was quickly caught up with the various characters, and could sympathize with them as they wrestled with decisions/actions, made mistakes, and learned lessons. The people were real.

I definitely recommend this book!


* Disclosure: "I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review, as part of their "Blogging for Books" program."

REMINDER: Picaboo Large 8 1/2" x 11" Hardback Photo Book: $8.99 shipped (or FREE!!!)

The Picaboo FREE photo book deal just keep getting more amazing... Through Tuesday, March 22nd, all new customers to Picaboo can get a FREE Large Custom Classic photo book (normally $39.99), just paying the $8.99 shipping. I have bought several books from Picaboo, and love the bright, crisp colors! Just use promo code "FREECC" when checking out.

Now here's the part that makes the deal so amazing... Picaboo just started a friend referral program, which gives both the friend referrer and the friend referral each $10 in "Picabucks". Several friends have reported that when they went to go order their book, this $10 was applied towards the shipping, making the book completely FREE! So if you click on any of the links in this post to sign-up, you should get $10 automatically added to your account once you set Picaboo up (you have to download their program to your computer).

And if you like Picaboo, once you've signed up, go to the bottom of the Picaboo page and click on the spot that says "NEW: Referrals" and go through the steps to get your referral link. Then pass this deal on to friends so that you can share a free deal, plus earn some credit yourself to use in the future! Your friend only has to sign-up, then download the software to get their credit, and you to get yours... They don't have to purchase anything yet for the credit to show up!

Snapfish: 100 prints for $5 shipped!!!

Wow, Snapfish is offering a fantastic St. Patrick's Day celebration: 100 prints for $5, shipped!!! Just use coupon code "PADDY20" by March 21st!

Entertainment Books: $17 + 45% Cash Back!!! ($4.35 shipped for new customers!)

If you have not ordered the 2011 Entertainment Book, through March 17th Entertainment.com has priced ALL their books at $17 to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Additional books (for any city) are just $10. Shipping is completely free. But here's how to get it even cheaper than that:

ShopAtHome* is offering 45% cashback ($7.65) at Entertainment.com! Sign-in or Register for ShopAtHome, go to Online Shopping, then select the store "Entertainment.com". It will open a new window and redirect you to the Entertainment.com website for you to make your purchase (and make sure to stay in the window to finish your purchase). Simple! That makes the book only $9.35 after cashback! If you are a new ShopAtHome customer, you will get $5 automatically added to your account since I referred you, which makes the book only $4.35 after cashback! (and if you order additional books, those would only be $5.50 after cashback)

* ShopAtHome offers friend referral credit, so both my friend referral and myself get $5 when they sign up. And doesn't cost either of us anything! ShopAtHome sends you a check in the mail once you've accumulated $20 in cashback.