5 Among Friends: Questions

I recently came across these questions over at The Sqishable Baby and thought they would be fun to answer, so here goes:

1. What was your favorite book to read as a child? Would you recommend it? Why?
Sometime around 4th or 5th grade I started reading this series of books that all of my friends referred to as Mandie books. Written by Lois Leppard, this book series was about a girl, name Mandie of course, who solved all of these mysteries. There are quite a few books in the series and I recommend them to young girls between the ages of 8-13.

2. What sport did you play in high school?
I was a cheerleader in high school (yes, it's a sport!). I started in 8th grade and cheered all the way until I graduated. For the one year that I was going through chemotherapy, our coach created a "manager" position for me so that I could stay involved with the squad since I loved it so much. I pretty much ate, slept, and breathed cheerleading. LOL

3. What is one prominent childhood memory?
I have a few very memorable occasions I could list here, but I think this one is pretty funny. One summer I went downtown with my dad to run some errands with him. I think I may have been about 7 or 8-years-old. We stopped at this lunch cart in front of what was then The Omni Hotel (now The Charleston Place). He bought me a bagel with tuna and alfalfa sprouts. We sat in the courtyard in front of the fountains to eat what I referred to as a "hard donut", but because I didn't like the alfalfa sprouts my dad took them off for me and threw them in the bushes behind us and that it would be our little secret. If anyone knows The Charleston Place, you know it's a pretty elite hotel, and throwing alfalfa sprouts in the bushes is one of the last things you should be doing at a place like that...haha!

4. What were your dreams as a child?
I wanted to be Miss Universe. I loved watching all of the beauty pageants on T.V. with my mom, but this one was my favorite. I guess it was all of the different cultures coming together in one place. I just thought it would be so much fun to be around that many beautiful ladies from all over the world.

5. What did you want to be when you grew up? Did you fulfill those aspirations?
I wanted to be a labor & delivery nurse. Well, I knew I wanted to go into medicine of some sort, but when I was 14-years-old, I was allowed to be in the delivery room with my aunt when she gave birth to my cousin. Ever since then I knew I wanted to help deliver babies. I thought it was the most beautiful thing ever. Since then I have taken almost all of my pre-requisites for nursing school. I have not been to school in several years, but I am planning to start back in the fall to fulfill that one dream of mine.

I hope you all enjoyed this little tidbit of information about me. I would love for you to answer the questions and post them in the comments below. :)

CHECK OUT THESE GIVEAWAYS & POSTS!

-Check out IPSY and BLUUM
-Buzzworthy Books of Summer iPad Mini Giveaway
-Dog Days of Summer $200 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway
-September Charity Auction for Courageous Kidz
-Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder Giveaway

Free Pattern Friday: Granny's Slouch Hat

As soon as I saw this it caught my eye...I'm a Clemson girl so anything purple & orange catches my eye...haha. This week's free crochet pattern is from Stitch 11 and it's this super cute Granny's Slouch Hat. I love patterns like these because you can be so versatile with the colors. Enjoy and happy stitching everyone!

Get your FREE Julep Box today!

So I just ordered my FREE Julep Maven box. It's so simple and easy. All you pays is the $3.99 shipping. Just click the badge below and enter FREEBOX at the checkout! I told you it was easy!!!


As soon as I receive my first box in the mail, I will do a review here on my blog, so stay tuned!

Money-makin' Monday: Instant Cash Sweepstakes

For this week's money-making opportunity, I would like to share Instant Cash Sweepstakes. For this particular program, once you sign up, you just take quick surveys. I really like this one because the surveys are not at all time-consuming. When you take a survey you are rewarded with any combination of prizes: cash, tickets, or coins. Cash is pretty self-explanatory. Tickets are used to enter the daily drawing of $50 and the coins are used to enter a drawing that occurs every few hours for $2. I've actually won the $2 drawing quite a few times. The payout is low...once you reach $2 you can cash out via PayPal. I wish I had saved my PayPal screen shots from all of the times I've been paid, but I haven't. The payout is super, quick, though. I normally receive my money within 3-4 hours after cashing out. If you don't give any other program that I tell you about a try, this is the one you need to check out. Here's the link to sign up: Instant Cash Sweepstakes

Check out ALL of my great money-making opportunities right HERE!

September Charity Auction for Courageous Kidz

I am now accepting vendors for a charity auction that I plan to start on September 1. I will be running my page over at Kristin's Kreations. All of the proceeds from the auction will be going to a non-profit, non-medical organization called Courageous Kidz. The reason I chose this group is because I am a 16-year survivor of a childhood cancer and was involved in a group that was begun by the founder of Courageous Kidz. This organization focuses on meeting the non-medical needs of children and teenagers with cancer, as well as their parents and siblings, by holding various events and activities throughout the year. The families touched by childhood cancer can sort of "get away" from their illness and find comfort in knowing that there are others who know exactly what they are going through. My goal is to raise at least $300.00 during this auction, which is enough to send at least one child on the Courageous Kidz annual Carowinds trip.
If you would like to donate one or more items, a gift certificate, or even a coupon code to this auction please email me at kristinskreations11@gmail.com. Thanks in advance!!

Free Pattern Friday: Library Tote

My children LOVE to read and we are all Dr. Seuss fans, so I was super excited when I found this free pattern from In Karapoozville. It's an adorable Library Tote.

Don't forget to check out these great giveaway that I'm a part of also!

-Dog Days of Summer Giveaway for a $200 Amazon.com giftcard
-Buzzworthy Books of Summer iPad Mini Giveaway Event

Come join me for these great subscription services:
-Get your Ipsy GlamBag for only $10.00/month!!
-Get lots of great free goodies for you and your baby, personlized for their age with Bluum

Money-makin' Monday: ClixSense

It's Monday so that means it's time for another great money-making opportunity for you all to check out. This week I have another PTC (Paid to Click) site for you to check out. ClixSense is a super easy way to make money. Once you click this link to sign up, you can start earning money just by clicking ads. I normally only do the ad-clicking part each day, but you can earn a lot more by completing offers and checking out the tasks section of ClixSense. Another great way to try to earn bonuses with ClixSense is by using the ClixGrid. ClixSense does use PayPal for payouts, so you need to make sure you have an account set up. As always, get all of your friends to sign up so you can earn money when they click, too. I have a couple of my payments posted below for you to see. If you have any questions feel free to post them in the comments below.

Check out ALL of my great money-making opportunities right HERE!

Nails Inspired by...My Husband's Drift Car

So I just wanted to take a moment to share a picture of my nails with you. I normally wouldn't put these 3 colors together, but I was inspired by the paint job on my husband's drift car after seeing this video tutorial by MissJenFABULOUS on YouTube. I usually don't do a lot of nail art type stuff but I like that it's different and I am thinking of doing a little series of nails inspired by the crazy designs of FormulaD cars. If you are more into cars, than into nails, you can keep up with my husband's drift news HERE.

Jamberry Nails: Day 14

I just wanted to do a quick little update of my Jamberry nail shields before I take them off. It has been two weeks since I applied them. As you can see, there's still not much tip wear. They still look really good. I figured it was about time to take them off, though, because there is a good deal of growth at the nail bed. Really, though, I don't know any nail polish that would last for 2 weeks on my nails the way the Jamberry did. I will definitely be buying some more of these!

Click HERE for my initial Jamberry application
DAY 4 of my Jamberry nails

Tarte Giveaway over at Le Chateau Des Fleurs (ends 8/1)

Buzzworthy Books of Summer iPad Mini Giveaway (ends 8/14)

Get your Ipsy GlamBag for only $10.00/month!

Join Bluum and get lots of goodies for you and your baby for only $24.95/month

Free Pattern Friday: Striped Baby Leg Warmers

One of the cutest things is seeing some chubby little baby legs in leg warmers. Here's an adorable free pattern from By Hook or By Crook. They look so simple and so precious!

You're Invited...Come Join Me!!!

So I have just joined Ipsy. If you don't know what Ipsy is, then I will give you a brief rundown of it. You only pay one flat fee of $10.00/month. They pay the shipping. Then each month you get what's called a glam bag. It's a bag filled with deluxe samples and full-size beauty products. I first heard about these from 2 different beauty guru channels on YouTube. Each month they unbox their Ipsy. It's pretty exciting because you don't know what's going to be sent. I have seen the bags with products that add up from $30.00-$60.00 worth of products so the bags pay for themselves and then some. If you would like to join in, just CLICK HERE. There is a wait list, but you will not be charged until a spot opens up for you. I can't wait to get my first Ipsy bag. I promise to do a blog post with all of my goodies that I get as soon as I do! In the meantime, check out these two videos from my favorite beauty gurus MissJenFABULOUS and EleventhGorgeous. they will show you all of their Ipsy glam bag goodies.




Another monthly subscription box service that I am thinking of checking out is Bluum. This is a service where you get a box of goodies that are hand-picked for your child whatever his or her age is. I have not signed up for my first box yet but I am seriously considering it because it would be great to get some goodies for my 2-year-old. As soon as I sign up, I will make sure I do an unboxing blog post for you. All of the ones I have seen online have some seriously awesome items in them and are valued at way more than the $24.95/month fee. If you opt for the annual service, it's only $249.50 so it's like getting 2 months FREE. Clicks this link if you think Bluum is something you would like to sign up for.
If you already subscribe to these services, I would love to know what you think and possibly even know what sort of goodies you have received in your boxes, so just leave a comment below to let me know. Thanks!!

Subscription Boxes: Yay or Nay?

It seems like the hot thing right now are subscription boxes. I had no idea there was anything out there like this until I saw some mention of them on some YouTube beauty channels that I'm subscribed to. Upon doing a Google search on "subscription boxes", I have found that these are not only geared towards beauty items, but there are also a lot of great subscription boxes for moms, children, crafty boxes, food subscriptions, and even ones for men. I would love to try out a couple of the more inexpensive ones and blog about what I receive and what sort of value they are.
My question for you all is this: Do you subscribe to any boxes in particular? What do you think? Are they worth the money you pay? Let me know down in the comments!! Thanks and have a great Tuesday!

Money-makin' Monday: SendEarnings

So last week for Money-makin' Monday, I introduced you all to Inbox Dollars. This week I have an identical program for you. Just like Inbox Dollars you will receive a $5.00 sign-on bonus when you sign up with Send Earnings. This is a chance to make double the money if you sign up for both programs. Visit this blog post from last week, read about Inbox Dollars, then come back to Send Earnings to get signed up. Below is one of my payments from the program. I have a few more but they are saved to my laptop and I am using the hubby's at the moment. As always, feel free to post any questions in the comments below. I also wouldn't mind hearing your success stories, so feel free to post those as well! Have a great week!

Check out ALL of my great money-making opportunities right HERE!

Current Giveaway...and Some Upcoming Giveaways!!

Don't forget to enter the Tarte Giveaway that I'm a part of. It ends in just 11 days!

Here are some giveaways that will be beginning really soon! You DON'T want to miss these! If you are a blogger and want to sign up, just click the links for more info, and make sure to let them know that The Adventures of a Yarnaholic Mommy sent you.
-Buzzworthy Books of Summer iPad Mini Giveaway. You can visit Children Teaching Mama for more info.
-Dog Days of Summer $200 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway at One Punky Mama
-What's On Your Wish List $1,000 Gift Card Giveaway at Mom Powered Media

Free Pattern Friday: Roadway Throw

I was so excited when I found this FREE patter by Red Heart Yarns. My sons LOVE cars, so this Roadway Throw is perfect for them. You could even scale it down to make small travel-size ones, too.

Jamberry Nails: Day 4

So I just wanted to do a quick follow-up on my Jamberry Nail Shields that I tried on Satuday. If you didn't see my last post, you can click here to read about my experience with them.

Yesterday was Day 4 of having my Jamberry nail shields on. As you can see in the picture below my nail polish hasn't fared very well in 4 days, but my Jamberry nail still looks great. There's a tiny bit of tip wear, but it's barely noticeable.

I took the green polish off and re-painted my nails that don't have the Jamberry nail shields. This is another old bottle of polish I had. I don't even think they sell it anymore. It's Nail Fantasies by Bari Cosmetics and the color is High Tide.

Money-makin' Monday: Inbox Dollars

Hello, I hope you all had a great weekend. Are you ready to find out a new way to make some money? Today I would like to introduce you to Inbox Dollars. With this program, you will make money by doing simple tasks such as reading emails, taking surveys, shopping online, or even something as easy as searching the web. As with all of these program, Inbox Dollars is FREE to sign up, but here's something extra...you get a $5.00 sign-up BONUS!! That's right, they will pay you to join! Click HERE to get started. With this program you will be paid via check once your account reaches $30.00. The more you do, the quicker you will get paid, and you will get paid for all of your referrals, too! I have posted only a couple of my checks below for you to see that you really do get paid. As always, if you have questions, just leave them in the comments below. Have a great week!

Check out ALL of my great money-making opportunities right HERE!

Jamberry Nails with Heather H.

Ever since I was in high school (a long time ago...LOL), I have loved to do my nails. I would polish them every night after finishing my homework so they would match my outfit for the next day. Since I've gotten older and had children, I still love to do my nails, but don't always have time. I've never been one to get my nails done professionally for the sake of cost and time, plus wearing artificial nails just isn't my cup of tea. Last year I started seeing these Jamberry nail shields all over Facebook. I've been wanting to try them, but have been hesitant about spending money on something that I feel I wouldn't use often. Just a few weeks ago a friend of mine sent me an event invite on Facebook for her online Jamberry party. The consultant she was selling under sent me these great samples. Yesterday I had a bit of free time so I decided to give them a try.

Here is how it came out:

It was very easy to apply. The only tools needed are a hairdryer (or small desktop heater), an orange stick, some small scissors, and a nail file. The nail shields come in all different sizes and there are hundreds of designs. Now I am a mom of 5 and I make my money by crocheting. So the HUGE plus side of these is that once I applied them, there was no drying time. I could get back to my children, start cooking dinner, or get back to my crocheting right away. Right now if you order with Heather you can buy 3 sets and get 1 free! Just click this link to check out all of the great designs.
Now since this was only a sample, I had to do something else with my other nails, so I used this Daredevil Frost by Sally Hansen. It's a pretty old bottle of polish, so I'm pretty sure they don't make it anymore. In fact, I was quite surprised that it wasn't all goopy. I do like how this color looked with the Jamberry Summer Chevron design, though.

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Free Pattern Friday: Baseball Cozy

Oh dear, it's already after 7:00 p.m. and it seems I have not yet posted today's free pattern. My excuse is that I've been running my kids to and from their sports camps this week and completely for got to schedule my post. To keep with the sports theme, I found this simple pattern for a Crocheted Baseball Cozy from Yarnovations. Not only do you get a free pattern, but you also get a recipe for some yummy Caramel Corn. What's great about this pattern is that it's extremely versatile, in that you can change the colors for whatever sport you are making the cozy for. I suppose you could even add a border to the top and bottom for your favorite team colors. Enjoy this week's free pattern and have a great weekend!

Also, make sure you join us over at Prop Till You Drop for our weekend Prop Party!