Free Herbal Materia Medica Course For The New Year From Herbal Academy!

On January 2 the Herbal Academy, International School of Herbal Arts and Sciences, is releasing their Free Herbal Materia Medica Course. As a wonderful way to kickoff the New Year, this program will guide students through the process of creating their own personal materia medicas and teach them how to study and observe plants using the “one herb at a time” method. In the course you will learn what a materia medica is (if you don’t already know) and follow along with the Herbal Academy’s step-by-step instructions on how to research a plant. The Academy's hope is to equip students with the tools and resources they need so that they feel more confident about studying herbs on their own!

Included in this course:

1. 6 thoughtful lessons that will walk you through creating your own materia medica
2. Free materia medica journal pages for download and print
3. A handy step-by-step guide to completing plant monographs
4. Helpful study aids, tools, and charts that will enrich your studies on topics such as safety and dosage, researching, plant identification, tea meditation, and more
5. An extensive list of references to support your research
6. Activities and tutorials to encourage hands-on experience
7. 20% off herbs at Bulk Herb Store during the month of January
8. Access to the Herbal Academy’s beautiful Student Platform
9. A badge of completion upon graduation

As a companion offering of the free Herbal Materia Medica Course, you have will have the option to upgrade your registration to include the Herbal Academy’s beautifully illustrated Materia Medica Journal. With the ability to accommodate 50 botanical monographs, this journal also includes many of the useful reference charts from the Herbal Materia Medica Course including those on plant identification, herbal safety, and researching tips and tricks.

Best of all, the Herbal Materia Medica Course is free during the entire month of January! Designed for herbalists and non-herbalists alike, all are welcome to join in this short course for free, which will be offered January 2 through January 31. Register for class here starting January 2nd!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I wrote this post to let my readers know about this free course. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog.

Online Food Stamps Petition #HealthyFood4All

Sign the petition at ThriveAction.org!

My family has been on food stamps before because of rough times. We lived off of food stamps when we were in Florida. We had moved from Winchester Bay Oregon after getting our car repossessed and evicted from where we were renting because we had been told promises that were not kept by our landlord and the bad economy didn't help either. My husband's sister was getting married in Florida and having a extravagant Disney Wedding there. Even though I had just had a baby, my daughter Tatiana, the month before, we decided that we were going to sell my husband Brian's CNC router and use the money to drop everything to be there for his sister's wedding. We gave and sold everything away that we could in the short time frame we had and stored the rest in our friend's garage, planning to come back for it once we got the chance to do so.

We had three kids at the time all under the age of four. We all hopped on a plane to Orlando and once we got there got a rental van and found a hotel with free internet access and small kitchenettes inside the rooms so we could cook something if we wanted to. Brian took back the rental van and purchased two bicycles and a bike trailer that fit our two oldest children + groceries in it (I would ride with baby Tatiana in a baby carrier on my back also). We also purchased a family season pass to Sea World so that while we were looking for work and a better place to live the four of us wouldn't just be cooped up in the one room hotel room driving each other nuts. Then we all went to the wedding and it was very nice to see Brian's family again. This was just the starting of our adventure there.

If ever there was a place that was really accommodating to the homeless, Florida was it! We were set up on WIC, food stamps, free health care, and a non-denominational church handout program that came out to our hotel and set up tables of hand-me-down clothing and food once a week. I got a small job clipping ads out of the newspaper for a tire company so that we could get a little money for other essentials we needed that food stamps and WIC didn't cover. Orlando also had a fairly nice public transit system which came in super handy too, especially once we found out our daughter, Tatiana, had a brain tumor and needed multiple doctor visits that were all across town. Even though it was trying at times we were very blessed and the experience helped our family grow and become more close knit.

Unlike WIC, food stamps has fairly lax regulations about what food items you can redeem with them. You can purchase unhealthy foods and drinks if you like. "Soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, and ice cream are food items and are therefore eligible items." My family would often choose these items because they were cheaper than the more healthy alternative and did not use up our food stamp money as fast. If we had been given a more reasonable opportunity that had healthier food and drink choices back then to redeem with our food stamps, we would have taken it.

More and more people have access to smart phones and technology that also allows them to use the internet even at or below the poverty line. 74% of people who live at or below the poverty line have internet access, while only 30% have access to a car. This was certainly true for us at the time we had food stamps in Florida. Also, currently food stamps can only be used in brick and mortar stores. This means that the options to use food stamps, especially for the nearly 23.5 million people who live in food deserts, areas in which it is difficult to buy affordable or good-quality fresh food, are limited. These people might also live hours from the nearest SNAP approved grocery store! If food stamps could be redeemed online—with the same rules that apply when buying in brick and mortar stores—more people would be able to purchase healthier foods. They could also save time and be able to get food and drink shipped directly to their door! This would be a huge convenience for someone who is disabled and/or without money for gas or transportation.

Now you have the chance to help Americans become healthier. Right now, Thrive Market offers a way to purchase nonGMO and organic food for a 25-50% discount online. Part of Thrive Market's vision is to make healthy, wholesome foods accessible to everyone. By signing Thrive Market's petition at ThriveAction.org for the USDA to make food stamps redeemable online you will help improve food stamp usage and make healthier food more accessible to those Americans who need it the most!

SOCIAL • CORNER
● Facebook.com/ThriveMkt
● Twitter.com/ThriveMkt
● Instagram.com/ThriveMkt
● Pinterest.com/ThriveMarket
● Youtube.com/c/ThriveMarketCo

@Bookieboo (of Mamavation) and @THRIVEmkt is hosting a #HealthyFood4All Twitter party with @ActivistMommy, and @HoneysLife on Tuesday, July 19th at 6pm PST/9pm EST. You can RSVP and Enter Giveaways HERE!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I wrote this post to let my readers know about this petition. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. Affiliate links may be in this posting. Thanks for supporting my blog. Please also see my similar post on Planting a Fruit/Nut Orchard and Edible Garden with Food Stamps (SNAP EBT).

Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program

I have fond memories of the Pizza Hut http://www.pizzahut.com/ BOOK IT! Program http://www.bookitprogram.com/. I still have my purple button with the white open book and rainbow tucked away in my button box (a box full of fun pins, buttons and pretty brooches).

When I was little we rarely ate out at restaurants. My mom was a great cook and had the time to cook meals for us. Eating out was saved when we were spoiled rotten by our Grandmother when she came to visit us or we came to visit her. Those days were few and far in between.

I went to public school when I was growing up. When the teacher handed out the Book It! buttons and explained we could get a Personal Pan Pizza from Pizza Hut (what a tongue twister!)  for free if we read books I was thrilled! This free pizza would be  the bonus I needed in between Grandmother visits. I loved reading anyway so it was easy and worth it.

In order to get the pizza you also needed to get a total of 5 yellowish gold star stickers to add to the button. These stickers were kinda small and hard to apply to the button accurately. I remember them sticking more to the tips of my fingers and less to the button. I also remember loosing a few before I ended up putting a piece of tape over them to better secure them in place.

I read and read to get those stars and finally got my personal pan pizza. Those were the days...

Well little do most know, the Book IT! Program is still going strong AND it is not only offered to teachers in public or private schools, but also parents and caregivers like me that homeschool their kids. I know that it is a promotional gimmick for parents to buy more pizza while they are at Pizza Hut, but I still support it because it is a great incentive for my kids to read...not that they don't already like crazy.

All you have to do to sign up is this... Go to the enrollment form, pick which type of school you teach at and fill it out. It is that simple! Go ahead and help your child/student read their hearts out. Hurry to enroll though because you only have until Sept. 1st to sign up. The program will run from Oct. - March of the 2012/13 school year and is available for kids in grades Kindergarten through 6th grade. It is completely free and totally fun!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I wrote this blog post because I thought you might be interested in knowing this information and taking part of this opportunity. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any compensation for doing this post.

Portland Oregon Safeway VIP Blogger Event Recap #Safewayj4u

On Wednesday May 16th, 2012 I was privileged to attend the Safeway VIP Blogger Event in Oregon at the Safeway Portland Division Office. This was my very first blogger event so I was thrilled to be invited! I met up with some other bloggers, traded information and socialized. We were also very well fed both breakfast and lunch. Safeway sure knows food :) The Signature Cafe Buffalo Chicken Pasta Salad, O Organics Blood Orange Italian Soda and the Safeway Select French Berry Lemonade Sparkling Soda was my favorite for the lunch portion of the event. On the table beside the food Safeway showcased some of their brand name food items.

We sat at long tables and Tweeted, Facebooked and sent our readers quick messages about where we were and what we were learning. Safeway showed us a presentation about their new clip-less coupon program called Just for U.

Essentially when you sign up for Just for U on the Safeway website you can save roughly 10-20% more than usual if you add the coupons that you want from their website directly to your Safeway Club Card. This makes it so simple to save money. These personalized price offers in Just for U are even better than Safeway's Everyday Low Prices and great Club Card specials. For those of us that don't clip coupons because of time restraints this is a much easier method and isn't time consuming at all. For those of us that clip coupons religiously or just part time this is also great for you too because you can still stack coupons with the Just for U offers as well and if you have a better offer on a clipped manufactured coupon than the digital manufactured coupon offered or vise versa you get the better offer...so the higher discount always wins. I will go into the program in more detail on another post to try to answer all your questions. There are some questions already answered about the Just for U program on the Safeway website.

After the presentation we were handed a Safeway $50 Gift Card and were told we would be going to one of their Safeway stores to shop so that we could get the feel for exactly how the Just for U program worked. First we needed to sign into our Just for U accounts on the Safeway website and add coupons we would use to our Safeway Club Card. So I added a few to my card that I thought I would buy, but when we reached the Safeway store by shuttle I found that I forgot to add a few of the offers. Fortunately they have computer consoles at the store with printers so you can load your cards with the offers there too and print out your lists. This is handy for those like me that have forgotten to add a few of the offers or those that do not have a home computer and need to add them before they start shopping. You can also add them from your iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad or Android.

When we arrived at the Safeway we were going to shop at there was a press conference held and Steve Frisby, Safeway Division President for Seattle & Portland spoke about the program to the media and answered their questions. After the press conference some of the bloggers were followed around by media and filmed for the news. I now wish I had been bold enough to have done this too as my blog could have used the media attention.

The Safeway sponsored shopping trip was a whole lot of fun even though I didn't buy too much because I didn't want to have to carry it all to the shuttle. I saved a nice 36% on my purchases although along with the Just for U savings I used a manufactured coupon I found beside the Tazo Giant Peach Drinks for $1 off and am also getting a rebate back for the 6 pack of Snapple. See how I did on my shopping excursion on my receipt.

After we got back to the division office we had a question and answer session. Then we were given a Safeway reusable tote full of Safeway swag goodies to take home with us. I was the last blogger to leave so they gave me the 5 red mylar balloons that were tied to the railing outside to give to my kids.

Here we are, the Portland Safeway VIP Bloggers. I am the shortest one in the front, with long brown hair wearing purple, green and blue. I really enjoyed my day with the other bloggers, Safeway personnel, and PR. It was fun filled and I hope to do it again soon!

DISCLOSURE/DISCLAIMER: I went to this event because I was invited. I wanted to let you, my readers, know of the savings you could get by signing up for the Safeway Just for U program so I wrote this post. Thanks to Safeway and their representatives for providing me with the information and inviting me to this event. I received free swag for attending. My thoughts are mine and my family's own opinion and have not been altered by anyone else. I did not receive any other compensation for posting.

Uprinting.com Blog Sponsorship Program

Uprinting.com has a blog sponsorship program that I have signed up for. They have opportunities to win giveaways they hold, you can hold sponsored giveaways for their products on your own blog, you can get free business cards, posters, and more to promote your blog or online business, get discounts and information on the latest promotions they are offering, and opportunities to make money by putting their ads on your blog. So far I have had a great experience with being involved with their blog sponsorship program. I even won a 16×20 inch high gloss poster print from Uprinting.com and Erin @ Connected2Christ Blog and chose the above photo collage of my family.



Why UPrinting.com isn't your average printing company:

Blog Sponsorships:
If you are looking to find a sponsor for your blog, UPrinting.com is definitely interested. We offer giveaways, advertising and more for qualified bloggers.

Non-Profit Sponsorships:
The U-Community Program sponsors hundreds of non-profits and education to improve our local communities.

Social Justice Projects:
The UPrinting Kiva account promotes small business growth in developing countries.

Green Printing:
UPrinting supports a sustainable future by recycling, using non-toxic inks, and offering eco-friendly recycled paper stocks for business cards and postcard printing.