I just posted a lot of February deals, online sales, and printable coupons. Over 35 discounts for stores, restaurants, online websites, and more! Something for everyone, especially if you missed Valentine’s Day or Chinese New Year and are still looking for a gift! I enjoy taking advantage of all the great deals available and definitely want to share the wealth. Although sometimes its worth paying retail (look for a future blog post on just that topic…)
Enjoy!
Tomorrow isn’t just Valentine’s Day…it’s also the Chinese New Year (it falls on Feb. 3 in 2011!) Make sure that you start the new lunar calendar with these good luck charms for a long and prosperous year:
*Chinese New Year lasts 15 days.
Figure out what your Chinese zodiac sign reveals about you, determined by your birth year. Those born this year of the Tiger.
When it came time for the Jade Emperor in heaven to decide the order of the zodiac, he invited all the animals to participate in a race. The order of the zodiac would be decided by the order in which animals finished the race.
When the competition started, the ox was leading the pack, but the rat jumped on his back. Since the rat was so light and small, the ox did not realize that the rat was hitching a ride. As the ox approached the finish line, the rat leap off his back and was crowned as the first animal to complete the race.
After all the creatures finished the race, the order was finalized: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig.
Check out snippets of my fairly [VERY] accurate profile:
Personality: Occupying the 1st and most prominent position on the Chinese Zodiac, the Rat symbolizes such character traits as wit, imagination and curiosity. Rats have keen observation skills and with those skills they’re able to deduce much about other people and other situations. Overall, Rats are full of energy, talkative and charming but they have a tendency to become aggressive.
Rats are full of good advice but they will never share their troubles with others. They are honest individuals and they enjoy living for the moment. They’re also capable of surviving any situation.
Routine halts their creativity so Rats need flexible positions that allow creativity.
Not nearly as self-confident as they appear on the surface, Wood Rats [based on the year you were born] will never expose this vulnerability to others. They’re successful despite their perpetual fear of failing.
*I’ll buy that!
Martha Stewart’s Chinese New Year Show this year. Or last year’s resources on Chinese New Year Table Settings.
Crayola is also offering their online community these incredibly cute crafts:
After being gifted with FREE box tickets to the rodeo this year I thought I should do my homework on my greatly appreciated prize!
Last year the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo was attended by over 1,300,000 poeple!! During that time they raised almost $1,800,000 in scholarships during the Livestock and Horseshow exhibitors! In 2009, they were also inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, CO. (For more fun facts about the Rodeo check out: Fun Facts)
When: The 2010 San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo will last from February 4th through February 21!
Where: 3201 East Houston Street, San Antonio, Texas 78219
View Larger Map
*OPEN EVERYDAY (8am until between 10pm & midnight)
*Season Grounds Pass (unlimited grounds admission for 18 days) – $20.00 by stopping by the ATT Center SW Box Office, calling 210.225.5851, or emailing tickets@rodeo.com (or visiting HEB business centers!)
If you’re going to enjoy the carnival, take advantage of these offers! My daughter and I ALWAYS enjoy going to the carnival!
Area of the Stock Show & Rodeo grounds which provides a wide variety of interactive activities and attractions geared towards family fun, education and live musical entertainment. All venues located in Family Fair have the same hours of operation (see below).
My daughter and I really enjoy the Pig Races…I remember selecting a pig to win when I was young and the tradition has continued with her!
What to help someone else? Special ticket programs!
Business charity program helped over 2000 individuals last year! Choose your favorite charity and give generously! Your contributions can also support the military and wounded and injured soldiers!
San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo offers an incredible time for friends and family, especially those that take advantage of THESE offers:
Get tickets through Ticketmaster or call 1-877-63-Rodeo:
http://www.ticketmaster.com/San-Antonio-Stock-Show-and-Rodeo-tickets/artist/804262
4 rodeo tickets ($10 level), 4 hot dogs, 4 chips, and 4 sodas for $49!
February 9th and 15th, purchase two rodeo tickets and get nachos FREE!
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo Dollar Days: Fridays ONLY (2/5, 2/12, 2/19)!
$1 grounds admission from 8am-6pm, rides, hot dogs, popcorn, and sodas in carnival $1 ALL day long!
College Days Thursdays only, Feb. 4, 11, 18…free admission to grounds with current college ID!
Current and former military receive free grounds admission every Friday during the Rodeo, courtesy of USAA!
Get the latest San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo news alerts, exclusive offers, and event information on your mobile device!
Text RODEO to 50927!
San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo iPhone App in iTunes!
– Stock Show and Rodeo iPhone App –
Monday, Feb. 15th, $1 grounds admissions!
Free grounds admission for anyone over 55 years on Tuesdays, Feb. 9th & 16th!
http://www.sarodeo.com/sarodeo/rodeo_concert/2010entertainment.html
Entertainment from past rodeos: http://www.sarodeo.com/client/media/80/3608/rodeo_performers_all_time.doc
http://www.ticketmaster.com/San-Antonio-Stock-Show-and-Rodeo-tickets/artist/804262
Follow @SanAntonioRodeo‘s tweets!
Last summer, while visiting my sister in Houston, I vividly remember reading a front-page story that made me so excited! It was about Lemonade Day, sponsored by Prepared4Life.org (P4L), a program the entire city of Houston supports that encourages kids to become young entrepreneurs, from kindergarten through the 12th grade, by teaching the fundamentals of business and financial planning.
Lemonade Day is a citywide program designed to teach children how to start, own and operate their own lemonade business.
My daughter, imaginative and resourceful, has always wanted her own lemonade stand. This program not only gives kids (many from high-risk neighborhoods) the opportunity to have a stand of their own, but empowers them with important planning information to maximize their potential for success.
It provides an opportunity for families, businesses, faith-based community organizations and schools to come together for a common purpose – to train the next generation of entrepreneurs through a free, fun, engaging, experiential activity.
When: May 2, 2010 | First Sunday in May
Originally started in Houston by Michael Holthouse (the founder of P4L) a master entrepreneur himself. After creating a company that surpassed the $100 million mark, 6 years after starting it from scratch (Paranet), Holthouse created:
He created the Holthouse Foundation for Kids to help at-risk children acquire the skills and habits they need to become successful adults…He and his wife, Lisa, later founded Prepared 4 Life, a non-profit organization that started by offering after-school programs for at-risk middle-school children in Houston.
He got the idea from his daughter who woke up early in the morning, excited to start her own lemonade stand. Together they put together a business plan taking into consideration marketing, location, and paying back her investors and from the ashes Lemonade Day was born:
The ideas was to give kids an engaging workbook that would guide them through the process of setting up a stand. An adult member would help walk each child through the process, but would be asked to leave most of the problem-solving to the kids…It would teach young kids the nuts and bolts of entrepreneurial startups: setting goals, planning for success, securing a loan, choosing locations, procuring supplies, making their product, and turning a profit.
Every Lemonade Day participant picks up a bag at a local station that includes a workbook for the kids and another one for the parents.
Although the kids are allowed to keep all of their profits, their encouraged to not only pay back their investors, they also are encouraged to donate a portion of their profits to a charity of their choice.
Lemonade Day 2007 - 2600 Participants
Lemonade Day 2008 - 11,232 Participants
Lemonade Day 2009 - 27,389 Participants
Check out San Antonio’s local website: http://sanantonio.lemonadeday.org/home
Contact information (local & national): http://sanantonio.lemonadeday.org/contact-us.aspx
*I’ve had the pleasure of working with Sara from the CE group who is San Antonio’s project manager for this HUGE undertaking! By using the link above you can also contact her for more information on sponsoring, volunteering, etc.
**Local Restaurants - our volunteers will need refreshments! Join the movement by donating meals/snacks for volunteers, your location could become a Lemonade Day backpack pickup location!
I’ll be updating with more information as I get it as well!
Listen to why all the kids LOVED Lemonade Day in Houston, TX last year!
I Love Lemonade Day from Geekette Bits on Vimeo.
As soon as I heard about The Westin La Cantera Resort‘s Valentine’s Day with a View contest I was VERY excited to enter. I love to read wonderfully romantic stories (i.e. Chicken Soup for the Soul: True Love), watching unrealistic “chick flicks” on Netflix’s instant Romance queue, and reading romance novels (not of the graphic variety)…more like all of Kristin Billerbeck‘s fun, witty romance series. (I couldn’t write this post in good conscience without including helpful links and fun facts.) 
*Besides my blog post on Valentine’s Day deals, check out Buxr’s Valentine’s Day deals here.
5 Critical Components
Although I’m low-key enough to enjoy ANYTHING, making whatever we did special, my homework assignment was to blog about the PERFECT experience…that would easily be achieved by including the following in our itinerary:
1 – Flowers Delivered in a Box (purchased w/ a coupon!!) – there’s something terribly romantic about getting flowers that you weren’t expecting that were delivered in a box. (Think old-school Hollywood…) Enough said.
2 – The Fray – my favorite group since they arrived on the music scene in 2005 with How to Save a Life I have loved their lyrics and melodies. Part of perfection is knowing you’re with someone special who appreciates all your idiosyncrasies, including fanatical infatuations with bands other people (insanely?!) are less excited by.
3 – Lamb Chops – I never understand people who think of “eating away your money” in a negative context. I truly enjoy great culinary experiences. I savor each bite and literally experience a Pavlovian reaction whenever I read menus! My ideal Valentine’s Day would include lingering over a 7 course prix fix meal and basking in scintillating conversation (see Critical Component #5).
4 – Darts - Well after we have dessert-ed and digested comfortably, and before Cinderella’s midnight deadline, throwing darts at a non-smoking, great music, empty bar with my favorite kind of electronic dartboards (which charges a quarter, not 75 cents a game…or unlimited…that’s good too.) I <3 playing darts, I’m competitive, I play to win! {Bonus Points } Give me pink darts (tips and flights) as a V-Day gift!
5 – Wonderful Conversation – Above all else, this is most important to me. Just enjoying each other verbally throughout the entire evening. Recapping wonderful memories from the past year, discussing plans for new vacations and making more memories, and reminding each other that regardless of the tough stuff, the reasons it’s worked as well as it has is because of the non-negotiable characteristic each other possesses, reveling in that realization!
Check out all entries and tweets by following the #VDayView hashtag.
Also, don’t forget to find out all the latest by following @WestinLaCantera on Twitter and becoming a fan on Facebook!
This post is part of The Westin La Cantera Resort’s Valentine’s Day with a View contest. Enter between Jan. 25 and Feb. 8 for your chance to win a one-night stay for two at The Westin La Cantera Resort on Saturday, February 13, which includes a romantic dinner for two at Francesca’s at Sunset and two rounds of golf to be played at either of our championship courses during your stay. Learn more at http://www.westinlacantera.com/Valentines-Twitter.html
I got home from work and needed to relax so I decided to see what my tweeps were talking about on Twitter. I was going through the tweets when I saw one from @JoshGroban asking:
If I’m not familiar with the series, should I begin with If You Give A Mouse A Cookie or If You Give A Moose A Muffin?
And so of course, anyone familiar with Laura Numeroff‘s beloved books, illustrated by Felicia Bond, which started in 1985, would know that you have to start with “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. So I tweeted back to @JoshGroban (just to let him know, along with his many other followers) and decided to write a blog post about what a great children’s book series it is…
After deciding to write about it, I realized that it would be great to include information about the author so I googled “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and found a link to the publishers website for each book at Harper Collins (link to If You Give… series). Of course I knew that I couldn’t write a blog post without looking at each of the following books:
Includes a link to an audio excerpt, the critic’s corner, and a link to the books’ official website: MouseCookieBooks.com.
Help Pig find her way to a pile of pancakes with this printable activity…when you’re done with that, help Pig look for hidden words with this activity.
This cool Cat comes with a complete activity kit filled with many different printables, If You Give a Cat a Cupcake stickers, and a coloring sheet.
And if you decide to throw a pig a party, you might want to have printable activities to pass out to your guests:
Once I made sure I had read all of the books, I wanted to see the If You Give… books official website.
You can play a matching game that starts off more easily with Mouse’s Little Matching Game but you can work yourself up to a bigger challenge with Pig or Moose.
After matching, you can play more education games, Mouse’s Counting Game, Pig’s Letter Game, and Moose’s Shape Game.
If you’re like me and the Cat with the Cupcake rocks your world the most, you might want to play the If You Give a Cat a Cupcake Game in order to win a very special recipe!
And if your getting you child ready for school, you’re going to want to check out this interview with the author and book activity which is not only fun but a great way to get your kids excited about school.
And if you want to get your child excited for school, you might want to help their teacher discover these incredible fun resources like this classroom activity guide for teachers which includes fun lesson plans for many different school subjects. And if you’re already doing a lesson plan on the books, you might want specific worksheets like this specifically for If You Give a Cat a Cupcake book.
And if you have already spent all of this time writing a blog post, you’re going to want to see what’s been happening on Twitter. And if you check your tweeps’ tweets, you might get the idea for another blog post.
Since I already made a couple of posts for Valentine’s Day sales and activities it would be discriminatory of me to exclude the 44th Super Bowl this Sunday, February 7th, 2010 at 8pm CST at Land Shark Stadium in Miami, Florida on CBS.
*May I also just wish Peyton Manning the best luck! Cheers to a player who’s old-school, who plays each game with incredible enthusiasm and passion (and he still calls his own plays!) I <3 Peyton! 
Go Colts!
versus 
Super Bowl Resources
Recipes
Restaurants
Invitations could only be done by Pingg! Not to late to keep track of your invitations and setup a Super Bowl party with super classy online invitations.
Supplies
