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Support Women in Business: Welcome Staci from Arbonne to the #directsales directory!

Staci for Arbonne Direct Sales Consultant

Welcome Staci Gerardi from Arbonne to the New Direct Sales Directory!

The brand new Direct Sales Directory will be launching soon – {Click the new tab in the navigation bar to learn more about it!} – and while I’m still in the process of building it, I’d like to introduce you to some of the AMAZING women who will be a part of it!

Coming Soon!

My new Direct Sales Directory will soon be a great place for you to check out a bunch of different options, and find the company that is right for you! All of the women joining are total pro’s, and can answer your questions, and get you started on your way to success! Plus, what a great way to support other women in business – Do your holiday shopping by ordering amazing products directly from these great ladies!

Why Direct Sales?

Direct Sales is SUCH a great option for busy moms – you have total flexibility on your hours, which is so important. Whether you want to earn a part-time income, or build a full-time career for yourself, the sky is the limit! And when you shop from a Direct Sales Rep, you are able to use your purchasing power to help other great women in business!

Meet the lovely Staci, and learn why she LOVES her business!

I’m Staci Gerardi and I own an Arbonne business. I started using the Clear Advantage line when I was pregnant with my daughter, because my doctor made me throw out the chemical filled garbage I was using on my face (which wasn’t working, burned my skin and eyes and was plain gross). A family member had gotten her hands on the Clear Advantage line and shared it with me. The smell of Peppermint and no chemicals intrigued me, so I brought it to my doctor and he said ABSOLUTELY YES, perfect product for you. Honestly, I didn’t believe it would work. After two weeks, my skin was fantastic and after a month, totally clear. I never looked back, just kept Clear Advantage.

Getting Started in Sales…

About four years later, a friend asked if I knew I could start a business of my own with Arbonne. I laughed at her and said “Yeah right, not me, I hate selling stuff.” She looked at me and said “I’m already making money off of the people you talk about your love for Clear Advantage to. All you do is share how much you love it and send them to me now. Why not just open up your business and make the money for yourself?” That was my AHA moment. I started my business and never looked back!

Learn more about the company, and what makes it so great!

Arbonne is a totally Vegan company, it devotes itself to being PURE, SAFE and BENEFICIAL.
It’s free of harmful ingredients, all of the personal care products are formulated without animal products or animal by-products, human by-products, formaldehyde-donating preservatives, Petroleum-based ingredients (Benzene, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Phthalates, Toluene) and PABA. Nutrition products are all formulated without artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners, animal products, animal by-products, cholesterol, saturated fats and trans fats. We’re also a GREEN company, using source reduction, using renewable resources on paper packaging, print with soy-based inks wherever possible and that there are post-consumer recycled content in all shipping cartons and plastic packaging whenever possible.

Why YOU should Join too!

Arbonne’s a top-notch company, with salon-quality products at affordable prices. Our products are highly concentrated and last much longer than store brand products. They treat their consultants like family, treat us like gold and reward each of us with amazing commissions, prizes, trips and bonuses. If you’ve got a family, this is the company to start your own business with.

For More Information:

To learn more about Staci’s Arbonne business, and check out some of the amazing products she offers, visit her website at StaciGerardi.MyArbonne.com today! If you have any questions, or would love to join her team, email her directly at stacigerardi@myarbonne.com. And if you’d just like to stay updated on her great products and promotions, head over to her Facebook page, and say hello!

Are you in Direct Sales?

If so, I’d LOVE to hear from you! You can read more about how the Direct Sales Directory works – Celebrating Women’s Small Business Month – and email me at sunshineandsippycups@gmail.com if you’re interested. Remember, I can only accept one rep per company, and spots are filling up fast! But I’d love to find some more great women to add to our group, so I hope to hear from you!

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Super Simple Peek-a-Boo Cookies!

Pook a Boo Cookies

Can you say, Yummm??

This is from the super fun, super easy, super frugal-friendly recipes over at Mr. Food! I’m such a fan of the Mr. Food cookbooks, that’s definitely my style of cooking – simple and quick! I’ll share some ways to get bunches of his recipes FREE in a minute, but first – lets get to the important part of the post, how to make these amazing cookies….

These bakery-worthy homemade sandwich-style Peek-a-Boo cookies have yummy jam that peeks out from holes in their sugar-coated tops. Whether you make ’em to enjoy at home or for a bake sale, these will go fast!

Peek-a-Boo Cookies

Makes: 4 dozen cookies
Cooking Time: 10 min

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup jam or preserves (see Options)
  • 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, with an electric beater on medium speed, beat butter, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla, and salt until creamy. Gradually add flour, beating until well mixed. Cover and chill 1 hour.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
  3. Divide dough into 4 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out circles and place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Using a plastic drinking straw, randomly cut out circles of dough from half the cookies.
  4. Bake cookies 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden. Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
  5. Spread jam evenly over solid cookies. Sprinkle remaining cookies with confectioners’ sugar. Place the cookies with holes over the jam-topped cookies. Serve, or store in an airtight container.

Busy Mom Tips:

  • In a hurry? Or, like me, and hate getting out a mixer? Use a refrigerated cookie dough instead!
  • These cookies are delicious and adorable! Try putting out a plate of these along with mugs of steaming cider. Mmmm…..
  • Any flavor jam can be used, but we like to use an assortment so there are different colors peeking through the holes in the cookies.
  • You can also make these with frosting, chocolate syrup, caramel sundae topping… Get creative!

Love it?

Super simple, super yummy, and they are just so cute and fun – perfect for holiday entertaining, or to give as gifts.

Get the FREE Recipe Books!

Sign up for these great free recipe books, and you’ll also be able to get the once a week FREE newsletter from them too – filled with really fun ideas. That’s actually where I got this cookie recipe from!

  • Free eCookbook – Mr. Food Best Brunch Recipes: 29 Easy Brunch Recipes to Celebrate Any Occasion, featuring 45 pages of easy Easter recipes for entertaining! Click Here.
  • Free eCookbook – Blue Ribbon Casseroles: 23 Easy Casserole Recipes, featuring 31 pages of easy casserole recipes to comfort you all year ‘round. Click Here.
  • Free eCookbook – No Bake Desserts: 18 Easy Dessert Recipes from Mr. Food, a tempting collection of triple-tested quick and easy no bake recipes, features all of your favorite no bake desserts – no oven required! Click Here.
Thanks for reading! Have a great day…..
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HUGE RESOURCE: How To Get Free Stuff Every Day!

Free stuffWelcome to another HUGE Freebie Post!

I get a TON of freebies each day. I absolutely LOVE going out to get the mail, and finding a bunch of boxes on my front porch, and a mailbox overflowing with fun stuff.

Our mailbox is actually way bigger than all of the neighbors- we had to upgrade it to fit everything!

Today I’ll share pictures of my free stuff from last week, and some of my favorite sites to watch for free offers! So, grab a cup of coffee {pumpkin spice latte, anyone?} and get your freebie on this morning!

{Quick tip- did you know, you can right click an offer to open it in a new tab or window, so you don’t lose your place on this freebie list? Makes it easy peasy to work your way through and get ’em all!}

Favorite Freebie Resources:

  • In the first pic here, you see some really great stuff! I got the Chef Boyardee Chef hat as part of my big party package from HouseParty.com. Check with them often to apply for the newest parties!
  • There’s also a really great set of products from Scrubbing Bubbles- I got this cleaning kit FREE as a member of BzzAgent.com. They have loads of great campaigns you can get!
  • I also have loads of free magazines, free catalogs, and great samples! Get a free subscription to Baby Talk Magazine which is always filled with coupons, and a Free Subscription to Website Magazine. Find tons of MySavings.com!

Free StuffMore Great Free Stuff!

  • On this day, I got my shipment from Walmart, with the super hot deal I told you about from RainingHotCoupons.com– I ordered both of these for around $9 bucks each, and they come with a coupon for a free magazine subscription. You can choose to simply get a rebate instead- which makes these FREE! She’s a great resource for coupons and deals.
  • I also got an assortment of samples that I found on offers from Freeflys – sign up for their newsletter to stay updated on the BEST new samples!

FreebiesMore Freebies!

  • Obviously I don’t remember where everything that I get each day came from! But on a big sample day like this, most of them probably came from sites like these-
  • MySurvey: I get tons of great Free Products to Test from MySurvey!
  • TFS: Check back daily at That Freebie Site for new cool stuff- you never know what you’ll find here!
  • Woman Freebies: I love the assortment of beauty and make-up samples here! Sign up for their newsletter updates to get the best new offers sent to you!
  • MySavings: Tons of cool free stuff, sorted by category. Check them out today- Free Stuff at MySavings.com.

Free StuffAnd Even MORE Free Stuff!

  • I am LOVIN’ this new Scotch Thermal Laminator– and what makes it even better is that it’s regular price is over $80, but I got it on a flash deal at Amazon for less than $10!! {I shared this on Facebook and Twitter- did you get one too?} And what makes it even BETTER than THAT? I got it totally free, since I get FREE Amazon Gift Cards from using my much-loved SwagBucks!!
  • The Swiffer Duster was a freebie that I got as a member of the awesome Vocalpoint.com– sign up if you’re not a member yet, to get in on some great full size product freebies!

A few more great sites too:

  • Baby to Bee: Great name brand samples and offers for moms, and moms to be! FREE baby stuff.
  • CafeMom: Find moms to swap coupons with, start clothing or toy swaps, learn new tips, and more! CafeMom.
  • Cool Savings: Watch the savings pile up thanks to free, printable coupons for groceries, kids, pets and more.. Click Here to join.
  • Planning Family: Tons of great stuff for parents, my favorite is the great free diaper coupons!
  • Savings Star: Save on your groceries with SavingStar! SavingStar is a new eCoupon service that’s totally paperless – so there’s nothing to clip or print. Get over 30 eCoupons worth over $50! Click Here to get started.
  • Toluna: I just got approved to do a Free In-Home Product Test of Pantene‘s new line of products- plus I’ll earn $15 bucks for trying them! Love this place.
  • LearnVest: Free online financial bootcamp, and great daily tips. Sign up for their Daily Frugal Living Tips newsletter, and get fun ideas, and suggestions for the best FREE services and sites out there!
  • Inbox Dollars: Get $5 bucks free cash today for signing up. Earn more for referring friends, checking out ad’s, and my fave- .10 cents per coupon you print and redeem!

What do you think?

Do you use some of these sites already – which ones are your favorites? Do you have some favorites that I forgot to mention? Share ’em in the comments!

Make sure to use the social buttons to share this on your Facebook and Twitter too- so you’re friends can learn how to get all of these great freebies too!

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The Most Adorable Argument of All Time….

How cute is this??

I love it, absolutely love it. I like when she loses track of the argument, and switches to no. Then he gets mad- “I said no first!” And I love when she brings age into the whole thing… “I’m FOUR. You’re NOT four.”

I’ve had one heck of a bad day – and this totally cracked me up and brightened my mood, so I figured I should share. I found it on a new Facebook friends page, Angies Angel Help Network– Feel free to use my share buttons to post it on your wall too!

Love Cute Babies? Get your FREE Subscription to Baby Talk today!

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Dr. Seuss and the Facebook Updates

Found this on a friend’s Facebook page today…

So funny. And so true- Have you ever tried to contact someone at Facebook? You pretty much can’t. My favorite was when I had an issue, and emailed support about it. I received an email back saying, “Thank you for telling us about your problem. Your feedback is very important. We won’t be addressing this, but thank you for your time.” Well, that’s neat.

If I didn’t love Facebook so much I’d break up with it. Make sure to come say hi while you’re there – Sunshine and Sippy Cups on Facebook!

How do you feel about the new Facebook changes? Share in the comments!

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Back-to-School Coupon Codes + Free Cash

Are you ready for back-to-school?

If you still have shopping to do {and I  betting that most of you do!} then you’ll love this  quick trick to save big on school  supplies, clothes, computers, and whatever else you still  need to stock up on.

How to Save:

Do all of your shopping through Ebates! All  of the following coupon codes are available  to use through Ebates this week, to save  you big bucks on your shopping right now.  THEN, since you’re shopping through  Ebates, and they have a BIG promotion for DOUBLE CASH BACK going on, you’ll stack up some additional savings, and they’ll send you out a BIG FAT CHECK like mine above, with all of your cash back! {During back-to-school and the holidays, I earn between $50-$100 each quarter in savings. The rest of the year, it’s smaller. But still, you’d do the shopping anyway, why not get some of your money back, right?}

How Ebates works:

It’s so super simple. Set up a quick Ebates account, and then use the search box to find the store you want to shop with. They’ll show you some coupon codes to choose from, that you can use at that retailer, and you can see how much cash back you earn there too. Then, click the link, shop like usual, and it will automatically add up your cash back and add it to your account. Easy peasy!

Check out some of the BIG savings available:

  • JCPenney: Shop the Awesome 3 Day Deals Sale for the newest Back to School styles. Free shipping on $49+ orders. Use code: SHIP49 Was 3.0%, now get- 6.0% Cash Back!
  • HP Home: $15 off orders of $75+ during our Back to School Promotion. Use code: SAVE15HP. Was 3.0%, now get- 5.0% Cash Back!
  • Nordstrom: Shop Nordstrom and get the coolest Back to School Fall looks from The North Face, True Religion, PEEK…, Lacoste, Levi’s and more! Was 3.0%, now get- 5.0% Cash Back!
  • Walmart: Have all of your supplies and essentials shipped directly to your store for FREE, and earn cash back too! Shop top-brand electronics for college at Walmart.com! Was 1.0%, now get- 2.0% Cash Back!
  • Kohl’s: Save 15% off orders of $100 or more at Kohls.com. Use code: BTS15EBT Was 2.0%, now get- 4.0% Cash Back!
  • 4inkjets: 10% off all products excluding OEM ink & toner. Free shipping on all contiguous US orders, no minimum. Use code: STUDY99. Was 13.5%, now get- 14.5% Cash Back!
  • Staples: Free shipping on $75+ order at Staples. Was 2.0%, now get- 4.0% Cash Back!
  • Barnes & Noble: Save up to 90% on used textbooks plus free shipping on $25+ order. Was 4.0%, now get- 6.0% Cash Back!

Share your stories:

You know I love to hear from you guys! What’s your best back-to-school shopping advice? {Or, if you’d like to hear some great advice from other moms, check out the Mom’s Online Back-to-School Countdown for some really helpful tips.} Or, where do you recommend shopping for back-to-school this year; who do you think has the best deals??

Have a great end to your weekend, and happy shopping!

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Find Amazing, Fun, & Free Resources at School Sparks!

All Children Can Start School Prepared to Succeed!

That’s the goal behind a totally amazing website I found today, School Sparks, where you’ll find a ton of really great resources for your child.

School Sparks is targeted towards parents of preschool kids, who are preparing them for school, and wanting to know if their child has the needed skills and development to start kindergarten. It has an assessment you can use to see how your little one is doing, and loads of great resources and activites! It’s also great for those with kiddo’s who have already started school, with fun activities to reinforce the skills that they’re learning each day.

Read More:

This site is run by Renee, who is a preschool and kindergarten teacher, now retired after decades of educating young children. Heather is her daughter, mother of two young boys. This blog is their collective scrapbook, passing wisdom from one generation to the next.

Free eBook:

Get the Free eBook, Stepping Stones for Early Readers, that will help prepare your little one for school, as well as help develop reading skills in kids who are already learning words at school.

Free Worksheets:

Printable preschool and kindergarten worksheets

This site has over 100 different Kindergarten worksheets that you can access and print! There are sections for developing gross and fine motor skills, social and emotional awareness, and fun pages like Alphabet Parade. I love, love, LOVE these printable worksheets! We put some of them into page protectors, so that my little guy can use dry-erase markers to do activities several times.

Free Assessment Test:

This site also has a Kindergarten Readiness Testthat is really easy to use. It asks a few questions in each of the major categories, and you simply click a box for “yes or no”, then get an evaluation of what your kiddo might want to work on to get ready for school. My littlest guy is starting Kindergarten this year, so this was a really cool tool to see where he still needs some help!

Understand How Early Child Development in 8 Areas is Critical to School Success:

Letter and Word AwarenessGet information on Early Childhood Development, including what will be expected of your little one during preschool and kindergarten.

This covers the 8 areas of that are most important:

  • Gross Motor Development
  • Fine Motor Development
  • Auditory Processing
  • Visual Discrimination
  • Letter and Word Awareness
  • Phonemic Awareness
  • Math and Number Awareness
  • Social and Emotional Development

This is just one of the coolest sites, with SO much helpful information and tools, and it’s all presented in such a bright, fun, easy to find layout.

You can find them anywhere you’re hanging out on the web:

{More great kids activites: Sign up for free, educational, safe gaming accounts just for kids: Time Island, and Kabongo, two of our families favorites!}

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