Welcome

Welcome to my VERY random blog. The Home page will show you all of the posts in my blog. If you would like to find just the posts related to our move to and life in Hawaii, click on "The Journey"

Monday, November 26, 2012

I Fricken Love Swagbucks

It's true.  I love Swagbucks.  Just ask my husband... I've actually loved Swagbucks longer than I have loved him HA!  But yes, I do love me my Swagbucks.

If you haven't heard of Swagbucks, it's a search and win website.  Ya know, use their site to search, win points, trade the points in for stuff.  I was skeptical, but now years later I'm in love.  This has been a slow year for me, I'm  working on one or more Amazon.com gift cards which would probably work me up to a whopping $25 of free stuff, but this year I have been slacking.  Last year it was $55.  The year before was around $150.

So, if I'm not getting as much free stuff this year as in the past, you may be asking why I still love them so much, why now?  Well I admit, I used to get a lot of swagbucks from game tournaments.  Not sure if they ever said why they haven't come back, they said they were going to take them down temporarily but never went back up.  There's still games, but winning 2 SBs at a time versus like 25 makes a big difference.  In any case, now they have shop and earn... and it is STEALTH.  How stealth?  Let me share.

I was looking for the best xbox 360 deal this past weekend after my brother in law posted that he had a bundle he was looking to sell, so of course, I was price comparing.  I found the bundle they had at Best Buy and I was looking at a whole bunch of other stores to compare and at one point I clicked on the Best Buy link through shop and earn.  They make it easy- if you enter in a store they have for shop and earn in their search bar it takes you to shop and earn results.  So I clicked through that way, but later closed the tab, and afterwards went back by going straight to bestbuy.com... and eventually did order the xbox bundle.  This was Saturday.

Partway through the day yesterday I get my email confirming my order from bestbuy.com... then on my way to bed LATE last night I get an email from Swagbucks, something about shop and earn.  I was SO confused.  I didn't buy anything through shop and earn.  This email contains no info.  So I checked my Swagbucks account, and guess what...

 STEALTH.

Even though I closed the tab, and then went back to Best Buy NOT through Swagbucks later, seems that didn't matter.  I'm getting 399 Swagbucks for buying my xbox online.  HELLS YEAH.  For the record, that's 51 swagbucks short of a$5 amazon.com gift card.

I almost couldn't sleep I was so excited.  Am I crazy?  Well, of course I am.  But that's why you love me.  And, if you decide to want to try Swagbucks too, use my referral link... then I get more Swagbucks LOL... http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Chickcasa

And no, I'm not getting anything from Swagbucks for writing how much I love them.  Though, it seems they DO have a program for bloggers to earn Swagbucks for just that.

~Katy

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Look What I Made!

Now, I make things often, as you may know, but I never cease to be proud what I figure out how to make something new.  This is particularly true when it comes to knitting, as I am admittedly far more skilled at crochet.  Well, last weekend I got hit with this urge to knit some mittens.  Not sure why, I don't typically wear mittens.  But I found myself a pattern, grabbed some of the yarn I have laying around (and boy do I have some yarn laying around) and got to knitting!

And here they are!I finished them last night.


Not sure why the picture turned itself around but they still look rather mitteny!  I'm pretty proud of them :)

In other news I have realized I have put up coupon codes for my Zibbet shop a few places now but have so far neglected you all!  So here is your very own coupon code good through November 30th.  So, if you see anything you want at my shop here: http://www.zibbet.com/kakers use coupon code "BLOG10" and get 10% off your order (before shipping.)  If you happen to have a coupon code from elsewhere, they should be stackable.

Here's a preview of something I am working on today to add to the shop shortly:

I just have to make its match and finish them off.  And of course photograph them, so even if I finish today it's unlikely they'll be listed before tomorrow.  But I'm pretty excited about these fingerless gloves!  I love the colors:)

Now off I go to knit some baby mitts for my niece!  Woo!

~Katy

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Getting the Most Out of Your Bubble Bath

Yeah that's right.  Bubble baths!  Who doesn't love them? Even my husband does (he is awesome like that.) And of course so do I.  I got 2 bottles of bubble bath for Christmas last year, funny story actually.  My husband and sister both got me the SAME kind.  At first I was thinking of exchanging one for a different scent, but decided I liked the one they got enough that I'd keep both bottles.  It shimmers.  It makes the bath water shimmer.  It's good stuff.

The kind they both got me is one of the Philosophy ones...

It is SUPER thick. I always felt like when I squirted it in, it just broke up and flowed to the other side of the tub, and the bubbles were good but I wanted MORE bubbles.  When I made it to the bottom of the first bottle, I had to figure out of course a way to use up that last bit that wasn't going to come out on it's own. And that is how I came up with the idea!

It seems, that THINNER bubble bath makes for a better bubble foam.  Since the bubble bath is made to dissolve in water, it can easily be diluted and still work.  In fact, it works better.

So the first thing you need is an empty bottle.  I happen to have the empty bottle that matches my current bottle, but any bottle would do.

Squirt 1 long squirt or 2 squirts of your bubble bath into the bottle...





Then you add some water to the bottle...


And swirl it/gently invert it or shake it VERY gently.  You want to dissolve the bubble bath, but NOT make it bubble (much) in the bottle.



If you mix it a day or more beforehand you can actually skip the mixing step, it will most likely dissolve into the water pretty well on its own.  Next time you go to take a bubble bath, squirt the watered down version into the running water and watch the bubbles come!  You get the same bubbles, if not more, with one squirt watered down as I used to get with like 5 squirts full strength.



~Katy

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

So Begins the Holiday Chaos! (And General Catching Up)

Well, we are now just over a week away from Thanksgiving. Are you ready for it?  It has really snuck up on me!  As you may be able to tell from my lack of posts, I have been QUITE busy.  I added a few hours with kids at work.  I went to my sisters (10 hours away!) for her Halloween party and then rushed to beat a hurricane home the next day.  That was fun.  Since then my weekends have been busy.  My gymnastics coach had a birthday party at the gym a couple Saturdays ago which was GREAT, and this past weekend I decided at the very last minute to go to a dance competition.

I am SO GLAD I decided to go!  I found out someone I knew back in high school (and haven't seen since) has taken up West Coast Swing.  He used to to Lindy Hop in high school, which is another form of swing that west coast evolved from.  So, knowing he would be there and it wasn't too far away (3.5 hours!) I just HAD to go.  Not only is he a fantastic dancer, but we also drew each other in the jack and jill competition we were in (where you get paired with random people) and had one of my best dances all weekend.  At one part, I think my heart stopped.  Seriously.  It was awesome.

And now here we are a week away from Thanksgiving!  We are going to my in-laws and it would seem that... so are my parents!  I can't wait.  I have a nice, happy, drama-free family.  Well, ok, no family is completely drama free, but we're as close as it's gets.  I like to think of it as my own personal family utopia.  Thanksgiving with my parents and in-laws, Christmas with my parents, my sister and her in-laws.  Sounds great right?  Well... it does to me anyways!  LOL

Other than being excited for Thanksgiving, though, I am completely unprepared for the holidays.  We don't know what we are getting anyone (except my brother in law!) and haven't figured out our travel plans.  So anyone else out there unprepared for the holidays?  Or are you all set and just waiting for go time?

~Katy