So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.
So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!

Thank you to who?Comics for sponsoring this post and encouraging my child to read biographies in comic book form! Please click here to learn more about the app. And follow who? Comics on Twitter for updates!

As you all know, I am a big fan of reading and an even bigger fan of learning! So you can just imagine how excited I was to  receive the opportunity to use the who?Comics app on my iPad with my kids!

Who?Comics is a free app and it comes with 2 books. There are 27 other books available for purchase. Some are sold individually but there are also packs available.  Which of course, are a better deal;). So I got the Scientists pack (surprise, surprise;).  Right off we checked out Marie Curie and Thomas Edison!

Here is a little detail you should know going in. These comics are not the super quick, over view type comics. There are 150 pages of details about the subject’s personal life. Which means it isn’t a quick read! I was very familiar with Marie Curie and I learned so much! NerdPie and I even cried at 2 different spots.

So what is my overall feel? Well, I love the idea of having these on the iPad for easy access! The art is clear and the story line moves at a good clip. This isn’t going to be a situation where you can read the whole thing in the doctor’s waiting room and that can be a good thing. This app was developed over seas and so there are a few translation issues. Due to that and the fact that these really deal with real life situations, I would make sure you child is near you when they read them. I had to explain about certain illnesses and certain historical events that were mentioned in the books we read. There was an assumption that the kids understood everything but mine had quite gotten there yet. (For example, why and how Poland was being occupied By Russia and how they weren’t supposed to speak Polish.)

My kids thoroughly enjoyed these comics! My kids are even asking for books from the library so they can learn even more! Both about the people in the stories and the science they discovered!

Thank you again to who? Comics for sponsoring my post. Please click here to learn more about the app. Visit who? Comics for updates. I was selected for this opportunity by the Clever Girls Collective. All opinions expressed here are my own. #CleverWhoComics #spon

So this is what I wore on tv last week. I don’t know if it was the right choice but;). There is something about a crisp white shirt that just always makes me feel pulled together. So I paired a white shirt from Lane Bryant with a denim jacket (that is my go to) that I got on clearance about 18 months ago from Fashion Bug. I think it looks pretty cute with my awesome Lee jeans that I got at BlogHer! I actually wore my red heels on camera but ran my errands in my CLaundry black flats. I added a multi-string necklace to give it a touch of edge. Pretty easy to wear.

So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.
So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!

If you are here today from Central Valley Today welcome!

Let us take a moment to look smart buying strategies.
1)Take life into account by looking at was important for people to do before the holiday. Which means that it is probably a great deal now. Use that to help you find the deals!
2)List making! It isn’t saving money if you buy a bunch of things you don’t actually need!
3)Coupon Sites are great! There are so many though and if that overwhelms you just let me know what you are looking for and I will try to find it. To kick off your coupon hunt here are a couple great ones:
Use Code SMS9999 to Take 20% Off Your Order at Kohls.com! Valid Through 1/21/12. and Take 20% Off Liz Lange Apparel When You Use Code TGTRHWW4 at Target.com. Valid for a Limited Time Only.
4)Shopping Portals are another great tool for shopping online. The actually give you a percentage of your bill back in cash! And this is in addition to any great coupons you use! I love Ebates (which I have belonged to since 2000) and ShopAtHome.com. Just make sure that you place orders using the same email that you sign up with. They don’t have any other personal order info!

Great time to buy:
1)Gift Cards: unwanted holiday gifts, venues like Plastic Jungle (where you can get 1% back using either shopping portal)
2) Holiday Materials
3) Wedding Materials: People usually get married in the spring and summer so now is a great deal on venues and supplies.
4) Carpet: according to CarpetSuperSite the slow season is until tax rebates start so the deals end about Feb. 15th.
5) Linens and Bedding: there will be white sales galore but beyond that color choices will influence deals.
6) Home Theater Equipment (tv’s, speakers, etc): Between Super Bowl promo’, CES and March being the end of the Japanese fiscal year. Now through April you can get great deals.
7) Air Conditioners: Off season and you might get a great deal on the installation too if the person you ask is slow!
Calendars: This is the perfect time to get organized! Great deals at stores as well as sites! MomAgenda is 35-50% off right now!

I think you all know that I love my Xbox and the Kinect. of course my kids love playing it but I do too!. There is a great article on the Xbox Kinect over at The Online Mom that is definitely worth a read!

So I am often unsure of my outfits, with trying trends and prints but not sure if it is just too much. This is an outfit I wore out to run errands. This shirt (from the Avenue) is one of the things I am never sure about. The hubby thinks it is a little much but I always get compliments. So I am very torn. What do you think?

The pants are also from The Avenue and a simple tank.  I have some great black flats that I found from Ross that are CLaundry brand.

Then onto the jewelry! I picked up this set from Fashion Bug as a $6 Black Friday deal. I hadn’t gotten Christmas jewelry in years and decided that I needed a more mature look;).

This flower headwrap is another fashion quandary. I think it is cute but…. it feels a little large. And is it too juvenile?

Ugh! I wish I felt more confident about these things!

Now I still have to figure out what I am wearing on tv this week. Next week you will see what I chose;).

I am back from the chaos of CES. Give me a couple of days to post some of the awesome stuff I saw. Until then, enter and add some giveaways!!!

So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.
So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!

So here is the deal. If you are hosting a giveaway or have a post about someone’s giveaway just leave a link. Make sure this link is to the giveaway post itself and not just the blog or it will be deleted. If you listed it last week but your giveaway is still open, list it again! Also your link must be to something family friendly or it will be deleted.

So now you need to add your giveaways and go enter some giveaways! Let them know that Contesting Monday sent you!

So I decided to start participating in What I Wore Wednesday! I figure that it will help keep me out of sweats. I like clothes but sometimes it is hard to justify wearing something cute to hang out around the house.

This week I am starting with an outfit I wore to church on Sunday. The shirt is from the Avenue and I got it for a steal. I think it was $10? The pants are by Caribbean Joe. The shoes are one of my favorite things and are by Strictly Comfort.

I realized that you can’t see my super cute blingy snowman earrings but next time I will take better pics!