NYBG Orchid Show 2018

The Orchid Show is one of my favorite things to do in New York City during the spring.  It is the start of spring and orchids are beautiful flowers.  They are one of my favorite flowers and I enjoy going to the New York Botanical Garden to view the show every year.  This year it is the 16th show that the New York Botanical Garden is hosting.  It’s amazing and no wonder that so many people go to visit.

This year the design of the show was created by an artist named Daniel Ost.  According to the website, he is considered the Picasso of flower arranging.  It’s amazing to see what an artist does with flowers and how they are able to arrange them and make a masterpiece.   Below are some photographs which I took while viewing the show.  I hope this inspires you to go and view them also.

 

Orchids are a beautiful flower that come in a variety of colors. I couldn’t get enough of taking photos of them.  A symbol that spring is here!

Money Saving Apps

Money saving apps? There are so many money saving apps.   As a working mother of 2 sweet boys, there has to be some kind of savings.  We work so much to make ends meet that we want to save some kind of money just for us.  There are so many rewards out there to help you get rewarded for shopping.  These rewards can be in the form of e-gift cards or cash out checks.  Any amount counts to help us to save.  I will tell you all about the different kinds of money saving apps that I use along with referral codes.

1. Receipt Hog– This app is great and easy to use. You scan your receipt from any kind of shopping that you might have done: whether it is from grocery shopping or clothing shopping.  You can get either coins or entry points for a sweepstakes or for a slots machine which you can win coins. Just scan away and you can earn coins.  You can redeem the coins that you earn from your receipts in the form of an Amazon gift card or PayPal.  For an Amazon gift card and/or PayPal, you need 1000 coins to get a $5 gift card, 2900 coins for $15, 4300 coins for $25 and 6500 coins for $40.  There are also levels that you can reach and earn more coins or spins for your slot machine.   The more levels you reach the more coins you earn.
2. Checkout 51–  This app is also easy to use. They post different items that you might purchase at the grocery store.  Here’s how it works: you go grocery shopping, come home and notice that you purchased let’s say Pringles, you scan your receipt and then you claim the Pringles and then you get whatever the amount is.  Once you claim $20, you can cash out. They send you a check to your home address.  There are many different categorizes that you can claim from: personal care, medicine & health, beverages, beer, wine, spirits, frozen, babies & kids, pet, home, dairy & eggs, bakery,  pantry,  snacks & sweets.  There are also bonuses that you can earn after claiming certain items.
3. Ibotta– This app is wonderful.  I really enjoy this app a lot because I can scan my receipt and claim items that I have purchased. If you shop online, you can also claim items and money rewards.  There are different kinds of catergories that you can shop from like: grocery, mobile shopping, beer, wine & spirits, pharmacy, clothing, beauty & wellness, specialty, restaurant & bars, convenience, travel, crafts & gifts, and home & electronics.   There is a wide range of stores that you can claim money for.  For example, if you shop at Shop Rite, you can look at what they have to claim like for example, Cocoa Pebbles you can get $0.45 back for purchasing it.  Once you get a certain amount of money, you can claim either PayPal, Venmo, gifts cards ( Sephora, Kohl’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, itunes, Amazon, Buybuybaby, IHOP and so many others).  There are many different ways to earn money here. One way is through claim what you purchased.  Another way is through teamwork: where you work in a group and earn points by claiming a certain amount of offers.  Once you claim a certain amount of offers you can get a bonus. There are different kinds of bonuses that you can also earn more money.  This app is great and you can earn a lot of money.  This app also uses a referral code which gives both you and your team more money.  You can earn $5 for each friend that uses the app once. Easy way to make more money and earn rewards.  You can use my referral code to help you get started: 7392ug.
4. Shopkick– This app is a fun app. When you walk into a store, you open up the app and can get walk-in points.  While in the store you can then scan certain items to get even more points.  Some stores will also have receipt scans to get even more points. These points can be use to get gift cards to Starbucks, Amazon, Walmart, American Eagle, Target, Aerie, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Old Navy, Nike and so many others.  It’s a fun and easy way to earn kicks.  You also have friends use your referral code and you can earn more kicks.  You can use my referral code: COOL333779 to help you get started.
5. FetchRewards– This is a new app which I started using. This app is used by scanning your grocery receipt and you get points. You can earn more points if you purchase the items that they have as special offers. There are different brands that you can get more points.  The rewards for points can be used of gift cards, restaurants and many others.  You can claim points starting at 5,000 points for $5.  It’s quick and easy to do.  You also can use a referral code to earn more points.  You can use my referral code: P4TXJ to help you get started.

 

I hope these apps help you save some money.  A little goes a long way as the saying goes. Happy Saving!!!

DonorsChoose.org #2

As a public school teacher, we buy a lot of the materials that our students need ourselves. It is a lot especially for a new year teacher. This wonderful site Donorschoose.org allows for public school teachers to create projects with materials that are needed for their classroom.   I have submitted more projects for my wonderful class of first graders.  We have been together for 2 years and it is amazing to see how much my students have grown as learners.   These materials will allow them to become better learners while engaged with materials.  My students which are also of special needs population, need privacy because they get distracted easily when completing assignments.  I have placed a project on donorschoose.org to get privacy folders.  These are pricey and they would benefit from them greatly.  Please spread the word of my projects around to help support my students and their learning.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.   Click on the links below to pick a project that you would like to support.

 

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/engaged-while-listening-to-books-on-cd/3090842/?utm_source=dc&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=project&utm_term=teacher_5112165&rf=twitter-dc-2018-03-project-teacher_5112165&challengeid=21132914

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/privacy-for-learners/3062531/?utm_source=dc&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=project&utm_term=teacher_5112165&rf=twitter-dc-2018-03-project-teacher_5112165&challengeid=21132914

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/successful-readers/3065273/?utm_source=dc&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=project&utm_term=teacher_5112165&rf=twitter-dc-2018-03-project-teacher_5112165&challengeid=21132914

Christmas Ornaments Gift Favors

We had our second son’s baptism in December.  I was thinking of favors to create for our guests that were coming to celebrate our son.   I searched Pinterest (my go to place for ideas) and found many different and nice ideas.  My favorite idea was Christmas ornaments.   My husband and I got married in December of 2015 and we had hot chocolate in bags with mugs as favors.  This time I thought having Christmas ornaments with hot chocolate was a great idea because it kinda went along with our wedding favor.  I wanted to make a connection.

So my Christmas ornaments hot chocolate favors was what I created.  My husband and I picked up plastic ornaments from the dollar store. We also picked up some hot chocolate  and sprinkles.  I also ordered dehydrated marshmallows on Amazon.

My husband and I got to work.   We filled the ornaments with hot chocolate, sprinkles and then dehydrated marshmallows.    I created tags with the event name and date.   It took about 2 hours to make all together. It was a lot of fun and everyone enjoyed them.   Here are a few photos to inspire you.   If you would like for me to create some for your special event, please contact me through here and I will give you a price.  Thank you. Happy gifting!