This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Mrs. Smith’s for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I've always been a fan of Mrs. Smith’s pies.  They are delicious, and taste homemade.  The tasting homemade is my favorite part, because I can get the great taste of a homemade pie WITHOUT all the work.  Squee!

I especially like the Dutch Apple Pie, because I've never had much luck with MY apple pies.  Hubs likes apple pie and I like apple crumble, so the Dutch Apple Pie is a great compromise for us.  I enjoy a good sweet potato pie, too, and Mrs. Smith's Sweet Potato Pie IS good!  LOL. 

When I had the opportunity to send a holiday e-card through the Mrs. Smith's Holiday microsite, and get a coupon to save on pie, of course, I immediately thought of my mother-in-law.   She likes e-cards and pie, too.  Score. 

Using the microsite was easy.  Simply choose one of four designs, enter your name and email, the recipients name and email, and if you want to add a message you can.

The microsite will deliver your ecard, your loved ones will know you care, they get a coupon for pie, and then YOU get a coupon for pie.  Yay!  You can send up to fifty cards, but they will only send you a maximum of two coupons to the same IP address.

Mrs. Smith's also sent me two coupons for free pies (one to keep, and one to give away), and we will be snagging the Dutch Apple. 

Wouldn't you? Plus, I know better than to even ask Hubs to try the sweet potato, since potatoes are vegetables in his book. LOL.

Best part is that a portion of all sales of Mrs. Smith’s pies will be donated to Operation Homefront!  Operation Homefront provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of our service members and wounded warriors.  One way that Operation Homefront assists military families during difficult financial timesis by providing food assistance in the form of food boxes and gift certificates to grocery stores.

Send an ecard, save on a pie, and help a soldier today!

Now you can win a coupon for a free Mrs. Smith's pie. Get a head start on the giveaway by liking Mrs. Smith's on Facebook and following Mrs. Smith's on Pinterest.  Mrs. Smith’s will also be making a $20 donation to Opeartion Homefront in the name of the giveaway winner.

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of NECTRESSE™Sweetener for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

As you all know, I do use zero calorie sweeteners.  I have been using a particular sweetener for several years, but am always willing to try new ones when they come out.  I recently had the opportunity to trial NECTRESSE™Sweetener, a new sweetener from the makers of Splenda.  Nectresse is the only 100% natural sweetener made from fruit – monk fruit extract – and is available at your local grocer.

I have two requirements when it comes to a zero calorie sweetener.  Obviously, the first requirement is that it is zero calories.  The second requirement is that it cannot leave an unpleasant aftertaste.  It would be nice if it were all natural, too, but those are typically A) hard to find or B) way too expensive.

When my box of Nectresse came in, I happened to be in the mood for sweetened coffee.  I typically drink my coffee strong, not sweet, but occasionally I need a little smile in my cup.  I poured a cup of java, and grabbed my box of Nectresse. 

I wasn't sure how it would taste, so rather than waste a perfectly good cup of coffee, I poured a little in my hand to try it first.  It passed the finger dip test, so I felt confident pouring it into my cup.

Let me tell you, a little bit goes a long way!  Did I mention that Nectresse is 150 times sweeter than sugar?  One packet of NECTRESSE™ Sweetener is equal to the sweetness of 2 teaspoons of sugar (i.e. ¼ teaspoon of NECTRESSE™ Sweetener is equal to the sweetness of 1 teaspoon of sugar), and I typically only add a half to one teaspoon to a cup, but dumped the whole packet of Nectresse in.  It certainly was a sweet treat.

NECTRESSE™ Sweetener can be used in a variety of recipes to add natural, zero calorie per serving sweetness in your favorite beverages and a delicious variety of foods. 

Check out this video testimonial from Lisa Ling.

You, too, can get a FREE sample of NECTRESSE™Sweetener.  Let me know if you try it, and what you think of it.

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Scotts® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Once upon at time, I had GORGEOUS daffodils growing in my back yard.  Over the last few years, though, the sunny display has gone from priceless to piddly, at best.

Here’s what my daffy’s look like this year…

So Sad.  Sad.  Sad. 

My daffy’s lack the color, size, and multitude of blooms that they knew in their glory days. 

Those petals are so pale, they are almost white!  I fear my tulips and lilies are going to face the same fate.

My woeful blooms have reminded me that it’s time for Miracle Gro   Expand ‘n Gro™

I’ve used Miracle Gro products in the past with a lot of success.  In fact, last year I used Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix when I planted my blackberry bush and it was thrived.  It grew far more than I expected it to, and it should produce enough fruit this year to make a pie.  Squee!  I also used it to plant my bell peppers in last year.  Had it not been for the varmint thieves, I would have enjoyed scrumptious home grown peppers, because my plants were gorgeous!

The mix expands up to 3 times when mixed with water, feeds plants for up to 6 months, makes native soil more workable and retains up to 50% more moisture than basic potting soil.   It’s super easy to use.  Check out this video…

Considering I have the blackest thumb in the family, I love that Miracle Gro lets me grow plants that I can proudly show to my Mom, who has the green thumb.  I’ll be making a trip to the hardware store or nursery before I call Mom out back to show off this years plants. 

One TBC reader can check out Miracle-Gro® Expand ‘n Gro™ Concentrated Planting Mix and try it out for yourself with a sample that I get to give away.  Leave me a comment and tell me what kind of plant or flower you’d use your sample on. 

If your bookmarks look anything like mine, you will be happy to hear about this new site, Clipix,that I just discovered. Clipix is a new tool to that solves the problem of seeing a gazillion things online that we want to rememeber later but either can’t find the bookmark for it, or forgot to bookmark it at all.  Eek.

I signed up for the site after watching the Clipix YouTube video. 

I have a LOT of sites that I peruse for homeschool ideas and kid friendly crafts.  My bookmark folder of said sites is out of control.  Seldom do I look for a link and find the right one on the first try.  Signing up for Clipix was easy peasy.  I simply used my Facebook to create my account.  Then I added the little Clipix thingamabobby to my toolbar.

Then I pulled up a couple of my favorite homeschool sites to start my clipping.

Clipix auto fills an editable text field for you to include pertinent info on the site (like, why you clipped it…) and also grabs images for you to select from to use as the clipix icon.

My favorite thing is that you can choose, on each clipped item, whether to keep it private, share it with friends, or make it public.  Then you also have the option of sharing your clip via Facebook, Twitter, or email. 

Here’s my homeschool clipix board… Sure, it’s meager… for now.  I love having the visual reminder of WHY I wanted to go back to something.  

So, what would you use Clipix for?  Recipes?  Crafts?  Wishlist?  Favorite sites? 

I’d love to follow your boards, so friend me when you sign up. I’ve added my clipix to my header, if you’d like to follow my clipboards. 

Look for this icon…

In the meantime, tell me what you think you’ll like the most about Clipix?

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