What I'm Loving This Month

In an utter disappointment to my mom "ironing my clothes" is not on this list.  Sorry, Mom.

Here are the things I am using and loving this month!

1. Cabin Socks

Photo from Dick's Sporting Goods

I'm a sucker for cozy socks. I got a pair of these a year or two ago from someone (husband? inlaws? Can't remember. I'm sure you're going to be up late bothered by the fact I can't remember who gave me socks).
Anyway.  My secret pal got me a pair for Christmas. They are so soft on the inside.  Here's a link.  These are wonderful for wearing around the house on cold winter days.

2. "The Underground Railroad"

Photo from GoodReads

Released just this past August, I'd heard a lot about this book before adding it to my Amazon wish list and ultimately receiving it as a Christmas gift.  I'm halfway through right now. Warning: there is a LITERAL underground railroad in this. Which, right now, strikes me as stupid but I love the book so much it's still what I'm loving this month.

3. ABC's new show "Speechless"

Image from Wiki

This half-hour comedy is one of the best new shows out there. Of course Minnie Driver and John Ross Bowie (Big Bang Theory fans will recognize immediately) are great as husband/wife.  The entire cast is fab but Cedric Yarbrough as Kenneth MAKES the show.  If you watch for no other reason, watch for Kenneth.


4. Fererro Rocher 

Image from Walmart

Have you ever had these?  The ones in the gold wrapper?  If not, high tail yourself to any local grocery store and grab a 3-pack by the checkout lane. They should be under $1.  Be prepared to hide them from anyone you live with!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There you have it, 4 things I'm loving in January. Socks, tv, a book and chocolate.  Pretty much the Introvert's Starter Kit.  ;)

Best Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes

Today we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.  Last week I read a book to some of my students ("March On" by Martin Luther King, Jr's sister) and learned that his birth name had not been Martin.  His father learned about Martin Luther and was so impressed he changed both his own name and his son (MLK Jr)'s name.  Isn't that interesting?  Here's a History Channel link if you want to read more about it.

We've all seen various quotes from MLK, Jr.  "Hate cannot drive out hate..."  "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" and so on.  He was such a wise man.  That book that I read to students was phenomenal.  Today I'm sharing 7 of his lesser known quotes.  I found these and made them into graphics. These quotes don't make the rounds on social media as much but I found each of them to be important.  

1.

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7.

How I Earned $300+ From Swagbucks

I tallied up my Swagbucks* earnings for the year....

 *Swagbucks is a site that lets you earn points for searching the web. These points can be redeemed for cash via PayPal or gift cards to tons of stores (Sephora, Amazon, Kohl's, JC Penney, Ebay, Best Buy, Walmart, etc)

In 2016 I got $334 from Swagbucks!  This year I redeemed for gift cards (instead of PayPal) and got $25 to Babies R Us, $25 to Sephora $284 to Amazon.

Like I've always said about Swagbucks, it will NOT make you rich.  Do not quit your day job. But would you like an extra $300 this year?  YES! If you are wanting to save up for a new PlayStation, Macbook, Christmas gifts, new clothes, whatever, THIS is the way to do it.  Personally, I didn't save for a big ticket item this year but used the earnings to buy things for my classroom (hello teacher budget), gifts, and loads of books! 

Here's how I earned that $334:

--Do the "daily poll".  It takes 2 seconds. You can find the link to it on the left side of your screen when you log in.  Here's a screencap of my screen today (the green check means I completed all of those activities).

--Watch videos on Swagbucks' website. There are topics for all sorts of interests: pets, household, cooking, finance, travel, celebrity gossip, movies & tv.

--Take surveys.  Sometimes you qualify for one, sometimes you don't.  I don't spend tons of time here but do try to get a couple a month.  Today I completed one worth 65 points!

--Participate in Team Challenges---there's usually a reward for everyone even if you are on the losing team.  They are free and a nice way to get a little points boost.

--Shop via the Swagbucks links. If the Ebates payout % is lower, I do my online shopping through the Swagbucks link and earn points for things I was going to purchase anyway.

--Do the "NCrave" items.  They show up on the home page.  Usually pretty easy and they pay anything from 1-7 SBs each.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Swagbucks is a great way for retirees, teachers, stay at home moms, and college students to earn some spare money.  I mean, who here would say "no thanks" to a few hundred dollars?

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Now that I shared how I made over $300 on Swagbucks, can you do me a favor? If you join, would you use my referral link? One of the way Swagbucks offers it's users the chance to earn more SB is through referrals. It's one thing I've not been good at that I'd like to improve.  Here's the referral link.  Thanks!!

Friday Funnies: Coffee

Seriously. It's been our first week back to school after break. Which means it has been a heavy coffee week.

Swagbucks Alert!

Swagbucks alert!  I've told you about how I earn points, called SB, to redeem for giftcards and PayPal. *Last year I cashed out over $400!*  Previous posts have talked about SWAGO opportunities that arise, but I've never mentioned the Collector's Bills.

Every now and then they offer "Collector's Bills" worth bonus SB points that you can collect by simply searching the web.

Here's all the information for this week's Snow Much Fun Collector's Bills:Search the web through the Swagbucks search Monday, January 2nd through Sunday, January 8th, and when you get a search win, you may get a special Collector’s Bill valued at either:

• 5 SB
• 7 SB
• 9 SB
• 11 SB
• 16 SB
• 22 SB

When you get a Collector’s Bill you’ll receive the value of the bill and the bill will be added to your “Collector’s Bills” ledger. If you collect all 6 Collector’s Bills and you’ll instantly earn a 20 SB Bonus!

They can be hard to get. Are you up for the challenge?!

If you aren't yet a Swagbucks member, you can join through my referral link HERE.
Swagbucks is a great way to earn free money and start saving for next Christmas!