Living Social has a deal up for grabs that you can Support Troops! Pay $25 and get $50 towards a care package or other morale efforts for US troops. Plus for doing this, you will get a t-shirt! Filled with items like snacks, toiletries, and phone cards, each care package not only provides troops with a reminder of home, but helps those serving a world away reconnect with their loved ones. By showing your gratitude and appreciation for those who serve, you can do your part to honor our nation’s true heroes.

Here are a few deals that are up for grabs at Publix Stores this week. Now prices vary a bit different because of stores and region, but prices should be close!

Sale: Crystal Light Drink Mix,- Assorted [Read more…]

Welcome to the Hop Along Friday!
As most of you may be aware of, GFC will no
longer be available to self hosted blogs and non blogger blogs
shortly. We don’t want to leave all of those people out! So, we are
adjusting our hop to include everyone! There are other ways to
follow blogs such as Google+, Networked Blogs, and various other
options. We want everyone to link up!

Here is what we would love for you to do. Please link up your blog and
at the end of it, leave how you would like to be followed.

Clearly, this is a time of economic struggle, most of us have fallen on hard times. Yahoo! has a weekly series that launched March 8, 2012, titled ‘Remake America’ that follows the lives of real families as they attempt to get back on track and achieving “their American dream.” The reality series will offer a lens, through the eyes of real families, into the political issues at the forefront of the 2012 elections, including the impact of unemployment, healthcare, veteran affairs, and the housing market.

These families are not any different from most of us. Their stories are so similar to most people I know, that they are simply un-extraordinary. In fact, when you watch the stories, I can almost guarantee you that you or someone you know has been through something worse.

But that’s sort of the problem, isn’t it? That extreme hardship has become the norm in a country that used to be known for bounty. Don’t get me wrong- this is no Darfur, of course- but relatively speaking, we are not stable and cannot offer our children the things that other generations were able to. There is no consensus as to when we will recover. Enter- the Great Recession.

In order for surviving businesses to “cope”, those that still have their doors open have cut costs and labor, or sent their jobs overseas- hurting Americans when we need jobs most. Many people have lost their jobs, or become severely underemployed. Many Americans are now without benefits, and home foreclosure and the jobless rate is at an incredible high. Those who are lucky enough to HAVE jobs are often forced to work long hours with no overtime, or to do the jobs of 3 people with no extra pay and no bonuses, no raises, nothing but stress to thank them. Many have unrealistic work loads placed on them, or are required to take on additional tasks outside their normal routines. What is to be done?

Say hello to a local family to my area, John and Michele Kocotos. John was laid off from his position in the Red Cross, and Michele was forced to get her Master’s Degree in order to keep her job as a head teacher in a local daycare.

I recently got the opportunity to sit down and chat with them, and they are very nice people- the kind you would meet at church or your children’s [Read more…]