Please Help Us Win The Linksys Geek Dad Cool Contest!

Vote for Ania  from Albuquerque!

Entering sweepstakes has always been my hobby. I'm so excited to  be a finalist in The Linksys Geek Daddy Cool Contest! I wrote a short essay about what we call  "Zoe TV" My husband created a website that broadcasts live video from a wi-fi webcam that points at Zoe's play area. This way our family and friends can sign up and watch her having fun and develop. It's our new family tradition. My parents haven't met Zoe yet so they check the website at least twice a day :-)

In order to win we need everyone's daily votes! The voting starts on February 29th and ends on March 19th. The prize ($10,000 Best Buy gift card towards creating the ultimate hi-tech home) would be a dream come true! You can each give us a maximum of 20 votes if you can do it every day.

You can find the link to the contest here.  In order to vote for me you need to have a Facebook account and Like the page. You will be asked to fill in a quick registration form (name, email, phone number - everyone who votes will be entered to win 1 of 10 Linksys E4200v2 routers). You can vote once a day and please do so!
Please vote for Ania J.'s  entry:

"Go have a rest and I'll babysit Zoe" says baby's grandma looking at her computer screen in Poland and the clock set to Albuquerque time. Twice a day I put Zoe into her play area. Her grandparents sign in to a website streaming live video from a wi-fi webcam that runs its own internal web server and uses DDNS to always ensure the Internet has access. "Zoe's TV" brings us all closer, provides new conversation topics, encourages us to improve computer skills and learn new languages. Watching the "Daily Dose of Zoe ", we are waiting for her first step!

Voting contests are hard to win and this is a lifetime opportunity for us. 

Thank you very much for taking time to vote for us!

My Mom in Poland watching Zoe

Us on the other side of the ocean

Our Home in Albuquerque

Can you spot the webcam?

Czesc! Jak juz wiecie, konkursy to moje hobby :-)  Jesli ktos ma czas i checi wesprzec w glosowaniu,  oto wyjasnienie: Jestem jednym z 10 finalistow w konkursie na esej o tym jak zamilowanie do technologii zapoczatkowalo nowe tradycje rodzinne. Napisalam o tym jak nasi rodzice moga ogladac Zoe przez Internet. Zeby wygrac olbrzymia nagrode (10,000 dolarow) musze zebrac najwiecej glosow. Tutaj jest link do strony konkursowej. Trzeba polubic (Like) strone. Vote now- zaglosuj. Pojawi sie okienko z zapytaniem o zezwolenie na aplikacje (zeby sie link do konkursu u was na stronie z boku pojawil aby ulatwic codzienne klikanie) ale to nie jest wymog. Powinna sie otworzyc strona z 10 zdjeciami i krotkimi opisami. Moje to Ania J  z Albuquerque (zdjecie jak w profilu Facebook). Mozna oddac glos codziennie klikajac na VOTE. Powinna sie zmienic liczba glosow i guzik bedzie nieaktywny az mina 24 godz. Za pierwszym razem trzeba wypelnic imie (first name), nazwisko (last name), adres emailowy (email), potwierdzic adres email (confirm email address) i numer telefonu. Trzeba odfajkowac dwa okienka ze sie zgadza zeby przysylali materialy promocyjne (sorry ze taki wymog). Ten formularz wypelnia sie tylko raz. SUBMIT znaczy wyslij, zatwierdz. Ah! I jak sie zaglosuje to jeszcze jest zapytanie czy sie tym chce podzielic na swojej stronie (SHARE), ale dla mnie to nie zadzialalo. Sposrod glosujacych sponsor wylosuje 10 osob ktore dostana ich router (komp.) (Dzieki serdeczne !!! Prosze dajcie mi znac jak bedziecie w jakims konkursie to bede glosowac :-)

Voting Contests - Enter Or Not ?

Lucky shamrock © J. Jordan 2010

It seems to me that voting contests are the most popular now. I actually avoid this kind of contests. They are tough to win. I find it difficult to ask my friends and family to make an effort, take their time and vote for me. Tomorrow I'll be announced one of ten finalists  in an online contest on Facebook. The prize is spectacular. It would be easy to get intimidated and not even try to win. But I can't give up so easily and I decided I will be asking everyone to vote for my entry :-). I also decided to start a Voting Request Page on my blog so our readers can let us know if they need some support!

What's your opinion about voting contests? Do you enter them? Are they fair? What do you do to get votes?

Tell All Friday Blog Hop!

Chelsea from Create ~ Inspire ~ Journal is hosting a blog hop! Go check it out and participate! Have fun answering this week's questions!

1. Happiness is...a journey, not a destination.

2. Today I feel...lucky.

3. My future is...a big surprise and I'd better work hard to help it be a good surprise :)

4. Favorite quote right now... Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, you're gonna start all over again.

5. I think about...all the things I've put on my to-do list and never done.

6. My life is...very fortunate.

7. I'm Okay with... a messy nursery.

Baby Savings!

Sometimes we like our food, sometimes we don't :)

My baby's almost 1 and I feel so blessed I've been nursing her all this time. Formula costs a lot of money and there are so many other expenses when you have a baby. There's a new Formula coupon available for $5 off any size Enfamil Premium Formula (expires 3/25/2012). You can refresh the page to print it twice. Please share with anyone who needs it!

Do you have any great tips how moms (and dads!) can cut costs while raising a child? As for me, I use Amazon to get diapers and wipes once a month through their Subscribe & Save option. Zoe wears clothes she gets from her older cousins and I try not to buy too much baby food at store even if I have coupons for it!

A Gift of Homemade Cookies!

Grandma Karen's Almond Cookies

Last Christmas we decided to set a price limit on gifts we were going to buy. We arranged that if we wanted to give more than that, it had to be made by us. It gave us a chance to explore our talents and find something we're good at :) As a result, we didn't necessarily stick to the price limit but since it was our baby's first Christmas, we had to spoil her a little bit :-) One of the presents we received was The Gift of Cookies. Grandma Karen is a great baker so she decided she will be sending  her homemade cookies to us each month for one year! We love this awesome idea and I just had to share it on my frugal blog :-) Do you appreciate homemade food? Have you ever received a handmade gift you find precious? If you had to use your talent, what would you create?

How Are You Doing on Baby Food?

Shopping at Sunflower Market over the weekend  I grabbed a few jars of Earth's Best organic baby food. It looks like a good deal, especially on the 6 oz ones. Our daughter Zoe likes their fruit products and it's handy to have some in the pantry. If you buy baby food, what's your favorite brand? I'm fond of Ella's kitchen but it's quite expensive. Feel free to share homemade recipes-  that's my ideal way and that's what I'd like to promote here after all :)

ChunkyandMonkeyMD, Jennifer and Gloria - thank you for following!

How to Feel Like a Confident Shopper

Thank you Sierra!

Sunflower Market parking lot, Albuquerque

So now I have a coupon binder :-) But how to carry it comfortably around with a baby in my arms? The answer is very simple: use a tote! Not only does it save you money (at Sunflower you get a 10 cents discount and at Smith's you earn 5 points  per each bag you bring!) but it's also friendly for the environment ! When I got this beautiful tote from Sierra Trading Post I instantly loved it because green is my favorite color. Then I saw the big pocket in front and discovered it holds my coupon binder perfectly! This made me feel like a smart, confident and happy shopper!
If you'd like to win a tote, a tee or other goodies they are giving away for their 25th anniversary, follow them on Twitter and Like them on Facebook! They appreciate their fans and I'm definitely one of them :-)

Holy Guacamole! It's a T-shirt Giveaway!

Check out more  NM designs here

There are many local giveaways going on to celebrate New Mexico's Centennial!  And who knows more about The Land of Enchantment than Lynn, a New Mexico native, who, through her website, shares stories, insider tips, fun facts and history about her home state. She has kindly agreed to give away a unisex size Holy Guacamole shirt (in M or L) to one of our readers. To enter, follow the two steps:

1. Find out something new about our state on New Mexico Enchantment. You can check Lynn's blog or follow her on Twitter.

2. Leave a comment under this post telling us one new thing you've learned  from Lynn about  NM.

The giveaway is open to the U.S residents and it ends on Monday, February 13th at midnight. The next day I will choose a winner at random from the comments. Please follow my blog or leave your email address so we can contact you; otherwise I will post the winner's name here and ask him or her to email me for details. Good luck and thanks for entering!

You Need to Have a Coupon Binder!

Before

After

I absolutely had to get organized! My coupons were everywhere - in envelopes, zip lock bags, etc. It was so hard to find anything! I did it! I went through all of them and threw away the ones that expired. I finally invested in a binder and I'm loving my new way of couponing! I arranged the coupons alphabetically because that's how it works for me. I added extra pages for  store specific coupons. I would really recommend making a binder to save time, energy and money :-) Shopping at Smith's the other day I noticed a price cut on Aveeno baby products. Boom! A is for Aveeno. Page 1! I had a coupon right there in front of my eyes :-) I paid about $1.00 for a product worth $6.00.  Do you have a coupon binder? How does it feel for you to open it up at a store ;-) ?