I’ve been looking for back-to-school freebies and backpack giveaways to post about, and I found this event, sponsored by Grossmont Healthcare District.
The event is FREE to attend and will include free back-to-school supplies, health activities, and fun prizes given away each day!
Each day during the event, there will be a Food drive To help local community members in need. They will be collecting canned foods to give back to the East County community.
Tuesday, August 3rd, 10AM-2PM: Get ready for back to school The park will be filled with community partners and a back to school giveaways! A DJ will get the fun time going all day long.
Wednesday, August 4th, 10AM-2PM: Get crafty The fun continues with take-home crafts in the park, face-painting activities, and a story-time led by some furry friends, including free books to those that join!
Thursday, August 5th, 10AM-2PM: Get active For a family activity, we’ll have a fun group exercise for all ages and levels of activity to get you moving outdoors! A fresh food giveaway will be this day, as well as the big prize- a $120 Gift Card!
Hey Gang! It’s Friday and that means it’s time for some freebies and deals.
This week has been fun! We have relatives visiting from out of town. Additionally, The littlest kiddo finished up her literacy summer program, and the big kid had his first week without summer school. Lots of swimming this week! I hope you’ve had a good week and are ready got some freebies!
As usual, let’s start this off with some ways to keep the kiddos fed and entertained this summer:
If you are looking for birthday freebies, fret not! I put together a list new for 2021- Check it out here.
Most of these freebies and deals are online. I know y’all are vaxxed and ready to party, but I’m trying to keep you safe. Keep up the social distancing with strangers, wash and sanitize your hands, and cover your mouth and nose if you are going to be around strangers. The kids and I still mask up when we go out, and I’ve got hand sanitizer at the ready.
Hey Gang! It’s Friday and that means it’s time for some freebies and deals.
I’m going out of town this weekend with some of my girlfriends. We are renting a vacation house out in Borrego Springs. We are going to swim, hang out, and sleep. And drink adult cocktails. I don’t know about all y’all, but I haven’t been away from my house/kids/cat for over 2 years. This mama needs a break. also, I need to sleep without anyone touching me (this includes you, CAT). I’m scheduling posts today to go live over the weekend, so I’m working even while I’m enjoying a 7&7 from a Pineapple sippy cup (Thanks Dollar Tree!).
As usual, let’s start this off with some ways to keep the kiddos fed and entertained this summer:
If you are looking for birthday freebies, fret not! I put together a list new for 2021- Check it out here.
Most of these freebies and deals are online. I know y’all are vaxxed and ready to party, but I’m trying to keep you safe. Keep up the social distancing with strangers, wash and sanitize your hands, and cover your mouth and nose if you are going to be around strangers. The kids and I still mask up when we go out, and I’ve got hand sanitizer at the ready.
Dollar Tree has some really great party supplies right now in some cool motifs:
I love Dollar Tree for Party supplies! They have some really great motifs, plus a variety of plain colored plates, bowls, napkins, table coverings, and plastic flatware to tie it all together!
Dream Dinners is one of my favorite ways to save time and get tasty, healthy meals on the table in 45 minutes or less! And now you can win a prize when you share Dream Dinners with family and friends!
Host an event with Dream Dinners this summer and be rewarded with an Exclusive Summer Essential Kit full of fun gifts and exclusive summer recipes (a $50 value). Plus, you will earn up to $75 in store credit to get more dinners for your family.
Interested in hosting an event and earning a Summer Essentials Kit? Spaces are limited, contact your local Dream Dinners today. For most of my readers, the La Mesa Dream Dinners is the closest.
Dream Dinners La Mesa Call: 619-460-6800 Email: lamesaca@dreamdinners.com
I’ve had a Upromise account for 15+ years. It’s a great way to earn and save money for college. I used my earnings/savings to pay for my college textbooks and parking pass when I finished my AA’s a few years ago.
The Upromise savings tools and automatic transfers let you set goals and transfer your earned rewards into college savings plans.
Receive a $5.29 bonus when you sign up for a free Upromise account.
Receive a $30 Welcome Bonus when linked to a 529 account. A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future education costs.
Upromise® Mastercard® – Cardmembers earn 1.529% cash back rewards on purchases when their Upromise Program account is linked to an eligible College Savings Plan, or 1.25% cash back rewards on purchases if their Upromise Program account is not linked. Apply today at upromisemastercard.com
There are a lot of ways to earn money with Upromise: Shop online through their portal or add their Chrome Shopping extension to earn extra money. Upromise also has a Dining program, where you can earn cash back for dining at specific restaurants and paying with linked cards.
Hey friends! If you are a long-time reader, you know that I’ve been talking about upcoming changes for about a month.
Spouse and I are getting a divorce. We are separating, and we’ve told the kids. This means a few things for the blog:
I need to look for more work that pays on a more consistent basis. I love blogging, sharing deals, sharing ways to make and save money, but it doesn’t make a lot of money. Side hustles are fun and a great way to make fun money, but it doesn’t provide enough money to pay the bills.
I’ll be posting as much as I can, and I may be posting more affiliate content to try and make a little more money while I look for employment outside the house. Clicking links in my blog posts is a small way you can help me. Especially the Freebie Friday links. I get paid a few cents for every link you click through on Freebie Friday posts. It’s not a lot, but it can add up. Plus it means cool freebies for you!
I may be posting more information on helping separating or single/divorced parents to help others in my position.
I may be posting more information on helping special needs parents/parents of children on the spectrum.
I am working on some other ways to bring in passive income that I may talk about on the blog as well. I’ve started a Redbubble store– I love journals, and I’m working on a line of my own.
I’ve also started at Etsy store to sell the printables I will be working on. For years I’ve been posting about everyone else’s printables, but using the ones I’ve made myself using various programs and software.
I will probably be posting longer, detailed posts about specific ways to save money. I may also be sharing more deals and hauls on Social Media. Please follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook, if you haven’t already.
I really appreciate my readers and social media followers. Without you, I’m just some weirdo posting photos and shouting into the void of the internet.
Looking for a job is a process that takes time. In the meantime, you still have to earn money. I thought that I’d post some survey companies that I use to make money while I’m on the hunt for a part-time job. There are a lot of Get Rich Quick scams out there (here are a few to avoid), and I wanted to share with you some ways you can earn money at home in a legit way.
I do a lot of surveys online through various companies. Some of my favorites can be found here on my Side Hustles page.
Recently, a few more survey companies have been brought to my attention, so I thought I’d share them too.
Join Inbox Dollars free and get paid to take surveys, shop online, try name brand products, and play games online. And you start off with a $5 bonus when you sign up!
Receive cashback from Kashkick when you read emails, complete surveys, take quizzes, referring your friend, and subscribing to special promotions.
With Opinions4Good, you earn points by providing feedback on a variety of different research topics.
Once you reach $10, you’ll be automatically paid out the following month directly to your verified PayPal account.
Earn your first $2 filling out your member profile, which we’ll use to send you surveys that match your interests.
Sign Up – Create an account and complete your profile step by step
Complete Surveys – Choose from a large amount of surveys to participate in.
Earn Rewards – New surveys added daily, so check back often to earn more rewards.
Pinecone Research members receive points for each completed survey! Points can be redeemed for cash or prizes. I love Pinecone research!
They will send you an email notification when you have a survey available. Complete the survey and earn points to be redeemed for either cash or prizes. Occasionally, they will send you a product to test, too.
Sign up and take surveys to earn points that can be redeemed for e-giftcards from Survey Junkie. Earn points by taking surveys, which can pay anywhere from $2 to $75 per completed survey.
One differentiator with Survey Junkie is that if you do not qualify for a survey, you still earn some points for it.
Survey Roundtable is a community where you can share your honest opinion about the products and services you use every day and get rewarded for taking surveys. Sharing your opinions can earn you real rewards you can use anywhere! Their rewards program grows every day, all depending on what our members most want to earn.
To make the most of your opinions, you’ll first take a Personality Survey. It’s how we target our surveys to your needs and interests
Here’s the virtual debit cards ($10 and up) currently have up for grabs: Amazon.com, Banana Republic, Barnes and Noble, GAP Brands, Regal Theaters, and more.
I’ve been a member of swagbucks for years, and it’s an easy way to earn free gift cards and cash.
Members join for free and will have access to all of our earning verticals, including, but not limited to, watching videos, shopping for cash back, taking surveys, and redeeming special offers.
Swagbucks is the web’s leading rewards platform, dedicated to providing FREE gift cards to its 12+ million members.
Choose from top retailers like Amazon, Target, Walmart, Starbucks, PayPal, and tons more.
When my big kid found out that Souplantation (or Sweet Tomatoes, depending on where you live up) had closed permanently due to the pandemic, he cried.
When you have food texture aversions, you rely a lot on your favorite standby foods and restaurants. I was on a mission to try and recreate one of his Souplantation favorites, which was the Cheesy Garlic Focaccia Bread.
I started with my pizza dough base (the recipe can be found here). And here’s where it gets crazy (and by crazy I mean this is not super healthy, so don’t eat it daily). The remaining ingredients are:
1/2 cup melted butter (that’s 1 stick)
2T. granulated garlic
1t. of each of the following: dried rosemary, dried tarragon, dried oregano, dried basil
2cups+ Italian cheese
Directions:
Make dough as directed here. I only let it rise once for this recipe.
While dough rises, combine melted butter, garlic, and herbs. Set aside.
Once the dough is down rising, turn the dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for about 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Separate dough into two pieces and roll out to fit onto your pizza pan (I use a cookie sheet that is covered in tin foil and sprayed with spray release).
Spread half of the herbed butter onto the dough, top with cheese. Repeat for the other half of the dough.
If there is any butter left, drizzle it over the bread.
Bake at 450 degrees for 11-14 minutes.
Remove from the baking sheet and slice into long skinny pieces to mimic the Souplantation feel.
The garlicky, herby, buttery goodness….Cheese and more buttery goodness. Into the oven it does!
This is a delicious, easy recipe. And kids love it too!
Hey friends! If you are a long-time reader, you know that I’ve been talking about upcoming changes for about a month.
Hewes Family Fun 