Happy Halloween - It’s All Treats Here

October 31, 2007· Filed under Holidays

Happy Halloween!! I hope you don’t overdose on chocolate and candy corn today and that all your little goblins have a great time dressing up. I’ve got some Halloween treats for you today, starting with a funny little comic I found. Scroll past the comic for lots more Halloween link love.

If you are not totally over Halloween by now, here are some of the best Halloween related posts from some of my favorite blogs - starting with some shameless self-promotion:

• At Weary Parent I compiled a list of fun Halloween activities to do online including pumpkin carving, making monsters, and dressing up the cat.
• Based on the insane number of searches/traffic for pumpkin carving stencils at Printables4Kids last night, I am guessing that a lot of people wait until the last minute to get that kind of stuff done. Stop over for the best list of pumpkin carving patterns, Halloween coloring pages, word searches and more pencil fun.
• Randa’s FreeStuff4Kids has some great Halloween recipes and instructions for decorating your pumpkin knife-free.
• Looking for a good Halloween movie to pop in this evening that won’t scare the pants off your little ones? Shannon at eMoms Seasonal Kids Activities compiled a list of non-scary Halloween movies for kids. There is plenty more Halloween goodness over there today, too.
• The gals at b5 media’s Thrifty Mommy did a Halloween roundup of the best b5 Halloween posts - lots of great ideas lurking in there!
• Still haven’t got your kids costumes together? HomeMom3 has a list of last minute costume ideas that you will definitely want to check out.
• LoveShakBaby has Halloween safety tips that you need to go over before heading out to Trick or Treat this evening.
• Don’t forget your manners this evening. Parent Hacks has a trick for helping kids remember to say Thank You while Trick or Treating.

Have a great day!!

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Friday’s Pink Ribbon Giveaway Winner Announcement

October 29, 2007· Filed under Contests

Gilden Tree Natural Healing Body Care sponsored our Casual Friday Giveaway this past week. The giveaway was truly a success based on the more than 200 comments left on the post. I had fun reading about everyone’s weekend plans, things we do to pamper ourselves, and the touching comments from breast cancer survivors and supporters.

Lucky number 52 was Kelli at the Zen of Motherhood. Kelli won the Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon Gift Set.

There are still a limited number of Gilden Tree samples to be given away, so if you didn’t win the gift basket you can still get a freebie if you act quickly - just email your mailing address to fridaygiveaway@gmail.com. (As always, we aren’t sharing this with anyone.)

As the holidays get closer, Gilden Tree is a great source for Natural Healthy Gifts for teachers, family and friends (or yourself anytime!) like their Natural Organic Spa Products, Deep Moisturizing Natural Hand & Body Care, and Luxurious Natural Robes, Towels & Accessories.

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Monday Motivation - But Its Cold Outside

October 29, 2007· Filed under Monday Motivation

The heat kicked on overnight for the first time since last spring and I so did not want to get out of bed this morning. My body is not taking kindly to the sudden drop in temperatures - last Monday it was 85 degrees outside and today it is only going to go up to 60 and it was in the 30s last night. I have a feeling that my Keurig coffee machine will be getting a serious workout today as I do everything I can not to let the lure of the warm bed draw me back in.

How do you stay motivated on days where you would just rather curl up with a good book, the warm blankets and a cup of hot cocoa?

1. Make a list - Take 15 minutes to do a brain dump. Write down absolutely everything you think you need to get done. Then take a few minutes and select three of those tasks (by deadline, profitability or desire) and make them your priorities. Estimate how long each task will take and schedule the blocks of time into your day. Next, highlight 5 smaller tasks that you would like to do - if you have time and motivation left after you knock out the big three.
2. Declare your intentions - Post your list on the refrigerator, on your blog, or tell a friend, and then get it done!
3. Cut yourself a bit of slack - Not everyday has to be amazingly productive!

Since I am definitely facing the Monday Morning denial today, I am going to heed my own advice. I am going to share my list and by doing so, I am declaring my intentions so you can help me stay accountable, but I am also going to cut myself a bit of slack and not take on as much today as I normally would.

1. Finish putting together a photo gallery on a site.
2. Remove Halloween affiliate programs and replace with holiday ones.
3. Post winner of Friday Giveaway #1 and follow up with sponsor.

Join Wendy (eMoms at Home) and me by getting motivatated today. What are you going to accomplish?

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Casual Friday - Pink Ribbon Gift Set Giveaway

October 26, 2007· Filed under Casual Friday, Contests

Fridays at Casual Keystrokes are all about taking a well deserved break at the end of the week to chat with friends, laugh a bit, and have fun. I have wanted to come up with a way to make it even more fun for everyone and during a recent brainstorming session the idea of incorporating giveaways with Casual Friday came up (thanks Gayla). Some great sponsors have offerered to provide me with giveaways, so you now have another reason to stop in on Fridays! (If you want to sponsor an upcoming Friday, just let me know)

Things have been pretty pink at Casual Keystrokes lately - from turning the site pink to the Designher Gals giveaway and the Gal to Gal Walk. With October on its way out, it is appropriate that start the Casual Friday Giveaways with one that honors the cause behind the pink - Breast Cancer Awareness and Research.

Gilden Tree Natural Healing Body Care is sponsoring our giveaway today. By leaving a comment on this post between now and midnight EST Sunday, October 28, 2007, you can win a Breast Cancer Pink Ribbon Gift Set.

This special gift set features the extraordinary Kiran Forest Soothing Hand & Body Lotion and Kiran Forest Spa Soak, packaged in a lovely heart-shaped box with lid. They’ve also included a pretty little pink ribbon pin that you can wear to show your support for breast cancer research.

Not only will one lucky commenter win the gift basket, but 100 of my readers can also get a free Gilden Tree product sample. To get your free sample, all you have to do is email your mailing address to fridaygiveaway@gmail.com. Don’t worry, we aren’t sharing that info with anyone else - its just the easiest way to get your free sample to you quickly.

So back to Casual Friday - what do you think of giveaways on Fridays? What will you do for yourself this weekend? How do you unwind after a busy week? Join the conversation below and you could be a lucky winner!

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MomGadget’s Holiday Gift Guide

October 25, 2007· Filed under Holidays

While most of us are mentally preparing for Halloween next week, Gayla at MomGadget is getting ready to kick off one of the coolest projects ever. Get this, she is asking us to contribute to a Holiday Gift Guide that gives back - to us.

If you are a member of any affiliate programs and/or have gift ideas you’d like to share, Gayla wants you to send them over - and your affiliate link will be included with your recommendation so you have the potential to earn money from making your recommendations. Plus, you have an opportunity to win some cool gadgets for participating.

Speaking of cool! Tomorrow’s Casual Friday is going to include a giveaway - but not just any giveaway. Yes, there will be one main prize, but 100 Casual Keystrokes readers will be able to claim a freebie offered by the giveaway’s sponsor. Be sure to stop in early and join in the fun!

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