Look At Me!

It was kind of cool to get up this morning and see my daily grind featured over at Gretchen's Fashionably Modest Patterns blog. Fun! Zip on over and check it out - while you're there, check out her modest swimsuit pattern. Yes, I know some folks feel like there is no such thing, but even they might change their mind after seeing this beautiful pattern featuring a longer skirted bottom (with attached shorts or panty), higher neckline in front AND back, and SLEEVES! Hallelujah! And no, I promise I'm not getting paid to plug. I just think it's a great design. :)

On to other odds and ends...

I got to go out with some younger friends from church last night, and we had a blast. :) We did a whole bunch of shopping for the church musicals (last minute costume rush, as usual, lol) and then got dinner at a local Mexican place and spent more than an hour talking and laughing. Love it. I always think of myself as someone who is happier relaxing at home, but I've been going out with friends a lot lately and I've loved every minute. Maybe I was lonely and didn't even realize it? Looking back, while I've had a really fun summer, it's been kind of devoid of my friends (except for that week I got to spend with Robin, and really, a week is NOT that long when we're apart the other 51 weeks per year). Hmm. Note to self: make time to spend with people. :)

I got my first Ebates check this week! For those of you who don't know about Ebates, this is the deal: You sign up - it really DOES only take two minutes, if that, and only requires your name, address, and email address. When you want to shop online - let's say at Target.com, or Wal-Mart.com, or Drugstore.com, etc - you go to Ebates, sign in, type in the retailer you want to shop (Wal-mart, Target, etc) or the product you're looking for (skirts, hotel rooms, makeup, etc), and Ebates finds what you're looking for and displays coupon codes. Click on the link, and Ebates takes you straight to the website. Make your purchase (maybe using those coupon codes?) and - this is the cool part - earn anywhere between 1%-10% back. Four times a year, they mail you a real honest to goodness check which you can cash and put in the bank.

I started using Ebates in May, so I've made $15 in three months just by buying things that I was already going to have to buy. I got this $15 by: booking hotel rooms for our family trip to HEAV through Orbitz (I also bought two plane tickets, one for my weekend trip to AL and one for my week-long vacation in July), redeeming a gift certificate for Borders, buying herbal supplies for Ruth through Puritan's Pride, and buying filters for the pool through Ace Hardware. Nothing glamorous, nothing extravagant - like I said, things my family or I were going to have to buy anyway.

If you want in on the action, go join Ebates!