Tis The Season...

to start thinking about Christmas cards.  I love getting Christmas cards from friends and family.  Catching up on the year through photos and letters to see how children have grown and what adventures life has brought to our loved ones far away.

I have to confess, we don't do Christmas cards every year.  In this electronic age, those who usually get Christmas cards from our family live many states away and are not [for the most part] online.  The last time we sent out fun updates to this contingent in our address book was right after GBaby was born and she will be 2 in January.  So, it's time for me to think about Christmas cards.

When what to my wandering eyes should appear, but a deal too good to pass up this year!  Shutterfly has some great  Christmas Cards this year.  This is not the first Christmas card offer that has come across my inbox, but quite frankly, the other's didn't have Christmas cards.  I'm not one for politically correct when it comes to Christmas cards, and choose to share Christ as the center of Christmas.  This card does that beautifully!

They also have lots of other fun things like calendars, mugs, stationary and photo albums that make great gifts for grandparents and family members you may not be able to see this holiday season.

If you're interested in turning some of your memories from 2010 into gifts this holiday season, check it out.  And if you want to save a little bit of cash, consider blogging for Shutterfly and always check RetailMeNot.com for current coupon codes.

Please note, this post is part of a promotion sponsored by Shutterfly.com, providing bloggers with product credits in return for promotional posts.

Don't Forget: Reply/Comment to Win!

Don't forget to go back to our kick-off blog entry to enter up to 3 times for chances to win a $25 gift certificate for Charity's Candles!  Contest closes out at 5pm Eastern Time on Friday!

Looking to Win?

Are you looking for the place to enter to win the $25 Charity's Candles Gift Certificate?  Click Here!

And We're Up!

Welcome to ThrivingMama!  In the last year I’ve had three friends ask how my family and I ended up with our simplistic way of life.  I’m a relatively new gardener, but I’ve had folks ask about gardening.  I’m and avid cook and baker and I’ve had dozens ask for copies of my recipes – and most recipes I’ve tweaked enough that they really are mine.

I am a child of the internet age and can find more information that I usually want with a few short keystrokes and I love a challenge.  So ThrivingMama is my challenge to share some of what I’ve learned: my recipes, my gardening tips and links to folks who are gifted in areas that I am not.  Time is valuable and I don’t see the point in re-creating what someone else has already done!

I have chosen to put family first, to live frugally and to choose to be content, instead of longing for things that are beyond our means.

So welcome, please, roam around, ask questions and feel free to e-mail me at thrivingmama@gmail.com. Check out some of my Philosophies to get a feel for my take on such mundane things as cleaning and cooking and I've posted some of my favorite Recipes to get things started.

Giveaways!

And what is a Grand Opening without party without giveaways?  Not this one!  Help me get the word out about my new site, and get up to three entries into the contest.

One lucky winner will receive a $25 Gift Certificate for Charity’s Candles & Crafts (yes, shameless self promotion on two fronts!).  Get ready for fall with our Spiced Apple Cider or Hot Chocolate soy candles- so yummy!

1. Contest ends Friday, July 31^st at 5 pm EST. Winners will be announced in a post on that date.

2. Entry #1: Leave a comment (or Reply just saying how you found this blog and you want to win.

3. Entry #2: Leave a SEPARATE second comment telling me in what way you promoted this contest (i.e., posting it in a forum, posting about it on your blog, Tweet about it, emailing all your friends, and/or subscribe to my feed by email or in a reader).  Make sure to leave your Twitter name or blog address.

4. Entry #3: In a SEPARATE third comment, tell me one thing you are most thankful for and one thing that will always bring a smile to your face.

5. Winner will be selected by Random.org.

7/16 Edited to Add (ETA):  Yes - Family and friends are certainly eligable and the "Reply" is the same as "Comment" :)

Happy browsing and don't forget to subscribe to the RSS feed with the button above :).