Rebuild Cash Stash Bonus Swagbucks (US)

I can help you rebuild your finances after the holidays. Replenish your cash stash the way I do—with Swagbucks!

If you haven't tried Swagbucks before, you can get a bonus $3 for signing up as my referral during January.

Swagbucks is a rewards site where you earn points (called SB) for things you're probably doing online already—searching the internet, watching videos, discovering deals, and taking surveys. Then you take those points and exchange them for gift cards to places like Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, Target, or PayPal cash (my favorite choice.)

When you sign up through me this month, you can earn a $3 bonus! Here's how:

1. First things first ... Sign up using my link! 
2. Earn 300 SB total before 2/1/18. You'll get a $3 (300 SB) bonus for it! 
3. If you want even more bonuses, you'll get a $10 (1000 SB rebate) bonus for making your first shop purchase! That's in addition to the SB you earn for every dollar you spend.  

That's it. It's super easy, and Swagbucks is for real. I have been earning with Swagbucks myself for years.

I redeemed 5,000 SB for $50 in PayPal cash on December 17th. That money sits in my account waiting for me to spend it on something I want for a change, instead of some needful thing. I have my eye on a printer and a speaker for my desktop computer. I already have 3,147 SB points toward my next redemption.

Soon I'll be doing my after-the-holidays shopping!

What will you be shopping for with your Swagbucks bonuses and SB points?

As a member of Swagbucks I may earn affiliate rewards through referral links in this article. Thank you!

December Swago Holidays with Spin and Win (US)

Swagbucks offers big payouts during their December Swago Holidays promotion!

December Swago with Spin & Win on the digital rewards site runs now through Monday, December 11th! Swago is just like bingo, but in this case you're filling out squares as you earn points on their site for doing things you already do online.

If you're ready to try Swagbucks, this is a great chance to learn how the site works and earn bonus points while doing it, meaning you can get your gift cards faster.

Tips for Playing Swagbucks Swago 

Each square on your Swago Board contains an action to complete. This might be a search win, completing a survey, or just visiting one of our popular stores!

Once you complete the action item in a particular square the square will change color signifying the action item is complete.

You have until 12pm PT/3pm ET on Monday, December 11th to mark off as many squares as possible so use your time wisely.

Be mindful of the patterns and their corresponding bonuses located on the right of your Swago Board. The patterns will vary in difficulty and bonus value. Once you’ve achieved a pattern, the corresponding “Submit” button will light up.

You can have multiple patterns available for submission, however, you can only submit ONE pattern so choose wisely.

Spin & Win Wheel

Each activity you successfully complete on your Swago Board will give you anywhere from 1-20 spins on the Spin & Win Wheel. PLUS, when you submit your board for a bonus you'll get additional spins. The number of spins will depend on the pattern you complete. The wheel has all sorts of great prizes that you can win, and each spin is a winner!

The Spin & Win Wheel will be available all throughout Swago and you have until 11:59pm PT on Monday, December 11th to use all your spins.

Fill up your board and then submit your pattern to get even more points - if you can fill in the whole board, you get a 500 SB bonus, which is enough for a $5 gift card from the retailer of your choice!

Click here right now and click "Join" to get started! If you don't already have a Swagbucks account, you'll be able to quickly sign up; PLUS, if you earn 300 SB before the first of January, you'll get a bonus 300 SB!

As a member of Swagbucks I may earn affiliate rewards through referral links this article. Thank you!

Praying Mantis as Prophet of Thanksgiving

Here it is November, once again, the month of thanksgiving. I can not help but have a spirit of Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) in my heart throughout the month each year when it rolls around.

Naturally, in my mood of giving thanks in November, I have created a postcard of thanksgiving to send to family members and to friends. In my choice of graphic images for my card this year I have chosen a gift from Mother Nature - Praying Mantis - the Prophet of the Greeks, with human-like arms folding in prayer.

Praying Mantis Giving Thanks by abitosunshine

Get your postcards printing from zazzle

 

To whom might you send this postcard of thanksgiving?

And what might your message be?

 

 

 

World Car Free Day

Tomorrow, September 22nd, is an environmentally important international holiday.

So, I am here to remind you...

Tomorrow is World Car Free Day

Drive No Cars - Ride A Bike

  

Wishing You a Blessed Merry Christmas

Aurora World 12" Emperor Mama And Baby Penguin

 

Mother and Child wishing Merry Christmas.

I can think of no better way to wish you a Merry Christmas than to remind you the reason for the season is held in the blessing of a mother and her child.

My wish for you this Christmas is that you hold your chid(ren) close, attached in spirit if not in person. I know I shall surely hold my son near in my momma soul on Christmas Day.

 

Wishing you a blessed Merry Christmas!

Submitted to:  

Holiday Shop Online Link-Up

Those of us who are doing our best to avoid the hustle and bustle of the winter holiday season have found shopping online to be the best shopping idea around. And we all know Black Friday is the beginning of the shopping chaos!

Here at abitosunshine we like to support our fine feathered friends. Whether shopping online or selling online, you have our support and encouragement.

To that end, we have chosen Black Friday as the day to create a linky list for the holidays for buyers and sellers! From our Shop Online Link-Up, you can shop til you drop! This will be an ongoing linky list throughout the entire 2012 winter holiday shopping season, so...

• SELLERS: Add your gift guides and shopping article links to the list!
• SHOPPERS: Show your support for small business owners online and shop from the list!

Where do you do this, you ask? Get linked up for shopping online! Here is the link to the...

SHOP ONLINE LINK-UP

 

Will you be buying or selling or both this winter season?

 

 

Happy Hallowed Wings

Halloween has officially arrived!
 

Halloween is supposed to be a fall holiday but let me tell you--in my neck o' the woods it feels more like winter than autumn! We had our first snow yesterday!

 

I pity the children going trick-or-treating this week. And their parents and/or chaperones. It is cold out there!

 

If you are going out with the goblins and ghouls tonight I suggest you take a thermos of coffe, tea, or hot chocolate with you to warm the chill of your bones!

 

Happy Hallowed Wings from me to you!

Digging Up Bones for Halloween

Ghouls and ghosts and goblins are everywhere this time of year with all the Halloween festivities and displays. My favorites, especially for yard displays, are the skeletons and skulls and graveyard fare.

Though I have not been blogging much about Halloween, I have published a page all about Digging Up Bones. There is a great collection of skeletal remains to be found on the page, sure to be the delight of trick-or-treaters of any age.

Have you been blogging about Halloween? Have you dug up any bones you would like to share?

At the end of this blog post is a linky list for you to add your Halloween blog post links you want me to visit. And if you have been digging up any good bones I just might share them on my Digging Up Bones page, too!

Buckets of Fun

For buckets of fun let us all sing together now...

I have buckets of fun in store for you!
Join me in the silly celebration of this wacky May holiday...

Hole In My Bucket Day!

Image is ©Ruth Cox

Share your silly suggestions for how to celebrate there's a Hole In My Bucket Day in May in the comment section, please and thank you!

Teacher Appreciation Week in the USA

Today marks the beginning of a week long celebration of teachers. Here in the USA, this week is National Teacher Appreciation Week.

 

Teaching is a Work of Heart

Buy This at Allposters.com

In honor of Teachers, traditional and homeschool, I share a few learning links with you:

  

• Teachers Are Heroes 
• Teacher Appreciation Gift Baskets 
• Teacher Appreciation Shares In Squidoo

  

  

Webmasters Make $$$

Old and New Year

Wishing each of you a happy new year filled with nuttin' but sunshine! I hold to the memories of 2011 as I reach for the future to be cast in 2012.

And for your listening pleasure, a treasure...

Traditions

Over the years, for one reason or another, I seem to have lost hold of those customary rituals that escorted me through seasonal festivities and celebrations. At times it seems as though decades of love and of loss have me reminiscing traditions more than giving life to them.

The loss of my pea in a pod, my Aunt Martha Bell, this past year had me wondering what on earth I would do with myself over the winter season, which I had spent mostly with her the past couple of years. Today, I saw a white poinsettia and I knew my aunt wouldn't be happy knowing I am sad, so only loving thoughts of her and a promise to do more than just reminisce in the coming year.

Of course, I had the pleasure of taking part in somewhat of a new holiday tradition this year. I spent Christmas day with my son and his family. Hugging and holding my son and grandson, watching wee ones delighted by anything and everything, new life was breathed unto me.

Most of us have time-honored traditions that spirit us through special holidays and events of our lives. I invite you to share a tradition or two. You never know, you may give me an idea for a new way to celebrate too.

the Sum of Ten and One

On this day, the eve of a new year, I am lucky, as Mother Nature saw fit to give up a day of spring-like weather. How fortunate I feel I am for the opportunity to ready myself to begin anew. As I say goodbye, on this eve of an old year, my mind is bubbling over in dreams of rebirth for 2011.

I wish you, one and all, a Happy New Year! And may your 2011 be blessed with nuttin' but sweet sunshine!

For As Long As I Can Remember

For As Long As I Can Remember
©Ruth Cox

For as long as I can remember, Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. And trust me, Tom Turkey has blessed me with many a memory.
Not one Thanksgiving has passed by in the last thirty-five years without me thinking of, and sharing with another, my last conversation with my mother. Oh, so many suns ago. In fact, a few years ago I finally put it to writing. In case I lose my memory?

Here's the link to my Thanksgiving memory of the year 1975, when my mother was still alive: Practice What Is Preached: Better yet -- practice peaches.

Fast forward with Tom Turkey and me to our Thanksgiving memories of the past decade. The year 2004 stands out in my mind as another I shall never not remember. I was temporarily living with family, trying to get my feet on the ground having recently escaped a domestic violence marriage. I'd "come home" seeking comfort in the arms of the known.

However, the holiday plans of the house didn't allow for my drug-addicted adult son to be present, so I accepted an invitation to spend this Thanksgiving with my boss and her family and friends. Cynda welcomed my son with open arms, as she would again on Christmas.

Cynda was a treasure. Here she is Thanksgiving 2005, her last Thanksgiving alive, making a round of her eggnog specialties for patrons of the bar. She owned Rafters Bar and Grill and I was her favorite bartender. I smile. For the few years I worked with Cynda, I would always bartend Thanksgiving day, and she would have me close up in time for dinner at her home, bringing any of my customers with me who had no place else to go. She was a lady with a whole lot of class and a wee bit of sass to her spirit.

Added to my memories is another Thanksgiving spent with family-by-choice. I'd met Mark and Terry at Rafters and we immediately became good friends. They fell in love with a bartender named Sunshine!

Anyway, Thanksgiving 2007, Mark's mate, Terry, had to work, so Mark invited me to tag along with him to his family get-together. We had a fabulous time! Mark's entire family is wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed the spirit of thanksgiving shared with southern Ohio style and comfort. Good food, good friend, good fun -- I couldn't have been more thankful for the day.

Last year, I discovered my Aunt Martha Bell would be alone for Thanksgiving. And my roommate would be going to his family get-together, which would have left me alone, too. Even though I was invited to go along with Scott, I chose not to let my aunt spend the day without family. She was ever so happy to have me spend half the day and half the night with her. And I was, I think, even more delighted than she, for it did my heart good to know how happy I had made her on what should be the happiest day of thanksgiving of the year.

Last week, I again spent Thanksgiving with my Aunt Martha Bell so she wouldn't be alone. This year, though, my roommate Scott joined us, as his family gathering would be in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had a wonderful time reminiscing, mostly listening to my aunt's homespun stories and looking through hundreds of old family photos, each with a story of its own.

Here are a few photos taken Thanksgiving 2010:

Thanksgiving will always be my favorite holiday, for as long as I can remember.

Submitted 12/05/2010
iWriteiBlogiWin

Giving Thanks Challenge

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. I can always find something to be thankful for, no matter the life storms I or my loved ones may be experiencing. It is also one of the few holidays that hasn't been bitten by total commercialization. Best of all, it is a time of family and friends gathering together to share their life blessings one with another, face-to-face or from afar. It is in this spirit that I accept the Giving Thanks Challenge.

The Challenge is an opportunity for me to show my gratitude for living and for me there is no better time to do that than during the season of Thanksgiving. Leah from South Breeze Farm is hosting this challenge, but I actually learned of this challenge from Diane at Bibliophile By the Sea.

The challenge is quite simple...There are (30) days in November, (30) reasons to feel thankful--add (1) to the list each day of the month. If you decide to join a few days into the month like I have, just catch up. And be sure to add the 2010 Giving Thanks Challenge Button to your blog so others can join in our sharing of thankfulness.

What things tug at your gratitude heartstrings? I do hope you'll share that which you are thankful for this November in a Giving Thanks Challenge post of your own.



 

GIVING THANKS:

1...I GIVE THANKS for the dawn of each new day, each new sunrise that opens up my eyes.

2...I GIVE THANKS for a special friend and roommate who has kept a roof over my head while I've been unemployed and while doing so has encouraged me to write and build my online businesses, Poetic Creations by abitosunshine! and abitosunshine Hosting and Design.

3...I GIVE THANKS for the love and devotion from my dog, Tidbit. She is my canine companion and soulmate, has been for a decade now.

4...I GIVE THANKS for the 9 years of silly sunshine my dog Scratch (Tidbit's daughter) gave me. Even though I lost her this past year, I carry her JOY within my spirit.

5...I GIVE THANKS for those family members who care to share their lives with me, even if only occasionally.

6...I GIVE THANKS for each day of life my son is granted, for each step he takes in the wake of his battle over addiction.

7...I GIVE THANKS for a few good friends who have stood by me through life trials and tumbles. Without them I would surely have crumbled.

8...I GIVE THANKS for those who inspire me to reach higher, for those who aMUSE and challenge me to attain my writing goals and share the gift I've been given.

9...I GIVE THANKS for each good memory of the past I can pull out of the rumble of my life storms.

10...I GIVE THANKS for Diane, her Giving Thanks Challenge post, which inspired me to want to do same. I awoke this morning with the sun shining and immediately whispered, "Thank you," and my next thought was of the many things a new day brings, beginning with my morning coffee at the computer with my writing ToDo List--first thing first ... Giving Thanks.

11...I GIVE THANKS for the military men and women of this nation, and for their families, all of whom sacrifice their very lives for me and mine.

12...I GIVE THANKS for afternoons such as yesterday's--spending time with my son and grandson, holding JOY in my arms; moments that will ever be held in my heart. Can you tell I am a first-time Grandmother?

13...I GIVE THANKS for the strength of hope found in my faith; sight unseen, yet known to me, the God of the heavens and of the earth shines bright, even in the darkest hour of the night. The power is held in the belief of Goodness, for I believe there is plenty good that grows in the earth beneath the sun in the sky.

14...I GIVE THANKS for the quiet of a Sunday morning--Serenity. Even though I live in a rural area, the road out front is the main road into town and is a highly traveled road.  But on Sunday mornings there is very little traffic as I sit at my computer sipping my coffee. Perfect peace is the feeling I get as I surf the net and glance out the window at the busy birds, scurrying squirrels, and country kitty cats. For the moment, all is well with my world.

15...I GIVE THANKS for the many friends I have met over the internet in the past decade. Many have been saviors of my sanity, in more ways than one. I am thankful for those social networks wherein I share my poetry, my writings, my thoughts, and my life.

16...I GIVE THANKS for having good sense--sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. And for the sixth sense--the hunch, the gut instinct, the intuition, the feeling--that innate instinct of right and wrong.

17...I GIVE THANKS for the houseplants that have survived my lack of a green thumb. I am at my computer surrounded in greenery ... Life!

18...I GIVE THANKS for Making $$$ Online! I've made enough this week to keep my car on the road for another month, hooRAYo!

19...I GIVE THANKS for chatting on the phone with a loved one. Now, you need to understand, I am NOT a phone person - send me an email! But, that occasional phone call, hearing a friend's voice, catching up, chatting about our lives, sharing a bit o' gossip - I do love it. Last night, I chatted with my brother Randy for an hour and right at this moment - I'm on the phone with my friend Karen. I am filled with glee and gratitude for the phone.

20...I GIVE THANKS for a good night of sleep, which I had last night! I have suffered insomnia most of my life, generally sleeping only four or fives hours a night, some night's not at all. So when I get in a good eight hours like last night, I'm floating on cloud nine.

21...I GIVE THANKS for my faith in God and my faith in the power of the Sun. I'm thankful for my beliefs and I am also thankful for my unbridled acceptance of the beliefs of others. Through my God and the Sun I have learned lessons of love.

22...I GIVE THANKS for my Aunt Martha Bell and the stories she tells. Tales of her past, my mother's past, my grandparents' past - my past, from whence we all came. I do hope to get her to record them so the stories live on, in her own voice, long after she is gone. I'm thinking we better get it done, for as she said last night, "I'm tired, Ruthi." And I know that she is and has every right to be so.

23...I GIVE THANKS for the lessons I've learned along my life pathway. Some of these life lessons were learned in a hard way; some were learned while I was hard at play; either way, I'm grateful for them all for they have made me the person I am today.

24...I GIVE THANKS for all net friends, near and far, who take the time and effort to share themselves online through the sharing of personalized emails, comments, stories, writings, talents -- the internet is a true blessing of friendship for me!

25...I GIVE THANKS for yet another day to just "be" -- HAPPY THANKSGIVING

26...I GIVE THANKS for the blessing of spending (yesterday) Thanksgiving with my Aunt Martha Bell and my roommate, Scott, who joined us. It was another special day of sharing memories and creating new ones to be remembered. I love my Aunt Martha Bell.

Now, if I can just figure out how to use this camera my friend Renda gave me, I'd be even more thankful, hahaha! I do thank you, Renda!

27...I GIVE THANKS for having known unconditional love here on earth. Of the canine kind with my dogs, Scratch and Tidbit, and of the human kind with my friends, Scott, Joe, Mark, and Terry. How I wish all relationships, whether romantic, family, friends, were all of this special quality of loving each other just the way that we are.

28...I GIVE THANKS for jigsaw puzzles. I always have one on the table being worked upon. Putting puzzles together reminds me a lot of living life, with each piece a part of the whole. Sometimes I glue them together to be framed for hanging on a wall; other times, back into the box the pieces go.

29...I GIVE THANKS for second chances; a third chance; and more. As the sun rises each day to start life anew, I, too, am given another chance at life renewal. Rebirthed each day--what a thing to be thankful for!

30...I GIVE THANKS for the Giving Thanks Challenge of 2010's month of November and all the things I am thankful for; I will remember.



Happy Mother's Day Hen..:-)

To all the Mother's of the Universe -- Happy Mother's Day!

Ground Hoggin' in 2010

Now, some may think Punxsutawney Phil the Groundhog Day king. However, I prefer Buckeye Chuck, who reigns here in my home state of Ohio. Early this morning, Buckeye Chuck rolled up out of his hole in the ground, his shadow nowhere around. Buckeye Chuck's prediction -- early spring for 2010!

This gal is Buckeye born 'n' bred, so she's quite happy about Buckeye Chuck's prediction for an early spring!

Let My Spirit Live

As our seasonal celebrations come to an end our hopes and dreams need not do same. Join me in a promise to keep the spirit of the season alive throughout the year, sharing it one with another, together...