Life...can you cut me a break already PLEASE?!?!?!

Hey all!

I know its been a while since Ive done a life update, but that is because....NOTHING IS HAPPENING.

So after my moms passing, and my dads health got better, I started back on the job hunt a little more. I send resumes out to every telecom company in the area, and really didn't get any bites. I did get ONE interview, and I don't think that we were a good match. I got the sense that if they weren't in such a desperate need of someone NOW, they might be willing to hire me and train me. But I got the feeling they needed someone who could just jump right in.

Also from that interview, and by viewing a lot of the job posts I have realized that the experience I have, in no longer "today's technology". I have worked with Voice services for so long. And now, a lot of phone service is done through internet. I understand the basics of that, but would still need to be trained. And I'm having a hard time finding someone who will take the time to do that.

I have my past experience to fall back on, office administration work. However, I haven't done just that in 18 yrs. However, in ANY office job, you have to know the basics of how an office works, and I do. I can answer calls, order supplies, make copies, type letters, send emails, file, etc etc. That is what I do for my own household, everyday. But to re-start that as a career, doesn't pay what I need.

I know a lot of people see that and think I am being money hungry, but that's not it at all. I would LOVE to be able to take a little pay cut, to just get back into the working field. However, I have 3 children to care for. I also have a husband who has Multiple Sclerosis, and could very well have to stop working all together, for the rest of his life, at any time, if his disease takes a bad turn. Therefore, I need a career where I know I will be able to make enough to carry our 5 person family.

And with our financials right now, school for a career is not an option.

Now I had a feeling I was going to lose my job for about a year prior to actually being let go. That is when I started really getting into the blogging and crafting, to see how I could possibly make some extra cash. And here we are a year later...and they have both pretty much turned into hobbies.
Yes, I sell about a wreath every month or two on average, and that helps buy groceries or pays for gas that week, but that's about it. Not enough to depend on.

AND.......on top of all of it, my husband lost his insurance a couple weeks ago, because they finally realized he was part time now. WTF?!?!?!   So, I rushed to get him added to the state insurance application I had in for me and the girls, but that pushed the whole process back again, so its a waiting game.

I have really been trying to stay positive through everything. I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. But I am starting to lose faith and my mojo.

SOMETHING NEEDS TO BREAK THROUGH ASAP!!!!!!

Sorry for the vent, but I needed to let it out somewhere, as I feel I have no room to complain to my husband.

But on a lighter note, for your viewing and maybe purchasing pleasure, below are a few wreaths that I've pumped out for Spring. Stop on by and like the Etsy shop #3LadybugCrafts on Etsy to see the latest and greatest as we finish them. Also, you can like our FB page #3LadybugCrafts on FB.
Thanks!!

Easter Gooddies at the Dollar Tree

Hey all!

I hit the Dollar Tree last weekend, for the first time since Valentines' Day was over. I thought I'd check it out to see what type of goodies they have for those Easter Baskets. I was pretty impressed.

Quit a few brand name items. Some that I even saw at "another" lower priced store, and here they are only $1.00. 

Just to touch base on a few items for you, below are some of the Easter candy that caught my eye.

 Peeps in fun flavors

 

Tootsie Roll money banks, in Easter themes

Bunny lips lollipop (like Ring pops for Easter)

 

Easter Life Savers

 Cute little Easter tin ornaments with various candies inside

And don't forget dessert at your Easter gathering.

Lastly, they had a few really cute decorations for your kitchen. I am not one to decorate my kitchen too much, but will definitely be purchasing these for the holiday festivities.

Tip:  You can also put these magnets on your stove

Hope this look into the current Dollar Tree holiday goodies, helps give you some fun ideas. Now get hoppin on over there!!! 

Shopkick App

Hey all!!

I was introduced to this new app a few months ago. I ran into a friend who told me you could gain credits on this app, in exchange for gift cards, no purchases necessary.  I was a little skeptical, but played around with it anyway.

I even went as far to get an electronic gift card through this app, and it worked. SOOOO, now I am here to give you a review and school you about the Shopkick app.

 In the app, the goal is collect "kicks". Kicks are like points. You can earn them by simply having the app open when you walk into a store, by scanning certain items at the stores, and/or by simply making purchases at the stores. 

 I have noticed, that the more you participate, the less options you will have to gain kicks. For instance, I no longer get kicks for walking into my grocery store, and the list of items I can scan for kicks, is not as long as it used to be. BUT, I do get 1 kick for every $2 I spend in there. (Yes, you do have to hook up your credit/debit card for this method of kick collecting to work) So, simply just by grocery shopping, I can easily earn over 50 kicks.

You can click on the "Deals" tab to see sales that are going on in the stores local to you.

On the "products" page, it shows groupings of items that are popular right now, the prices and where you can buy them.  You can click on the like heart icon, to save it, so you can refer to later, if you happen to go to that store.

I have found a trick with these groupings on the products tab. If you click on each collection, about every 2 or 3 collections, scroll all the way to the bottom, and you will see an envelope that you can click to ear 1 kick. I have noticed that each day, the app created about 5 new "product" groupings. So every few days, I will go through them all and collect as many Surprise Kicks as I can. ( see below)

 

Once you collect a certain amount of kicks, you can earn Rewards. I typically collect Kicks, so I can gain a gift card, available on my phone, for 2 of my most shopped stores like Target and Walmart. You can then just have the cashier scan your e-gift card right from your phone. 
I tried to claim a Walmart card for my first time, as I seem to have the most trouble with them with coupons...IT WORKED!!! No issues.  Took $5 off my order without a problem.
 

 

 There is also a screen where you can see how and when you earned your kicks.

All in all, I am really liking this app. If there are a lot of things to scan at a store, I can give my kicks the phone and send them off to scan for me. Each time I grocery shop I automatically earn large amounts of kicks. And best of all, once you hit a certain amount, you have a money off coupon waiting for you to use, anytime you need.

I highly suggest you download this app today and try it out, if you are a frugal shopper like me.

Happy Kicks hunting!!!!