Saying a prayer that each and every one of you is surrounded today by those you love most!
—Phoebe June, Smuffy and The Storyteller
Happy Valentine’s Day!
A Last Minute DIY Valentine Gift You Can Whip Up in 1 Minute!
I have shared this recipe before, but I thought you needed to take another look at it in case there’s someone you’d like to bless especially on Valentine’s Day and you’re short on funds or ideas. And, there’s a FREE PRINTABLE below!
If ever a holiday had a tendency to sneak up on you unexpectedly, it’s Valentine’s Day. Somehow, when Christmas is over and the last Happy New Year is wished, we tend to hunker down for winter and take on the attitude that there won’t be a single bright spot in our lives until spring.
So, I’m wondering, are you ready for it?
I know, I know. So much is said about how commercialized Valentine’s Day has become and how it was given a big build-up by the retail world in order to suck us all in to their stores so they could empty our pockets, leaving us to stagger out in a daze wondering if we’d just done too much or too little when all we really wanted was to say, “I love you”, or “You’re special to me.” We resist the nudge to fall into such traps, but let’s ask ourselves one thing – What could be better than a special day to remind us (because we so often forget) to offer someone a loving gesture?
I love old-fashioned, sappy Valentines. Here are some that I’ve made and you can see more about that here.
A card will do just fine, but as for gifts, I love to give a few special people a simple token of affection without going on a spending spree. Let’s face it, a homemade gift always means more and if you go overboard you can send the person you’re trying to bless on a guilt trip if they think they need to reciprocate. Or, even worse, you’ll start that horror of horrors – the yearly contest to see who can outdo the other – an uncomfortable situation that empties everyone’s bank account and does little to fill the heart.
If you’re feeling a twinge of panic and wishing you had a few tokens of affection to offer, try making this homemade sugar scrub. You’ll have it whipped up in one minute and have nothing left to do but fashion a cute tag declaring that the gift is “Because You Are So Sweet”! I wish I could remember where I found this great idea and recipe so I could give credit where credit is due, but it’s been a while and a Pinterest search is not bringing it back to me, so I have no idea. If anyone can send me the info or a link to it, I’m happy to include it here.
If you have a stash of stuff like I do, you probably won’t even have to leave the house for supplies. You’ll need a mixing bowl, spatula, small jars, extra virgin coconut oil, white table sugar, 5-10 drops fragrance oil (rose or lavender is nice), red food coloring, ribbon and/or fabric scraps, paper tags, cardstock you can fashion into tags or, better yet, the FREE PRINTABLE TAGS you’ll find at the end of this post! This recipe made three gifts, but it all depends on the size of your containers. Clear ones are best, because the sugar scrub is really pretty!
Instructions:
With a spatula, blend ½ cup extra virgin coconut oil, 1 ½ to 2 cups white sugar, 5-10 drops fragrance oil and five drops food coloring together in a mixing bowl. Fill jars and add a cute tag or label.
I hope you didn’t nod off during that lengthy description. Coconut oil softens at 76 degrees Fahrenheit, so if your work area is colder than that you may have to put the bowl in the microwave for a few seconds to bring it to the point where it mixes easily.
I got into my Printmaster program and designed a tag that suited the look I wanted to achieve. You can always make this quick gift for a birthday or any other occasion by using different colors of food coloring and changing the look of your tags or labels. Again, I used various jars, ribbon scraps and bags I had on hand.
Why give sugar scrub, other than the fact that scrubs are popular and can be expensive? My main concern was whether or not they are good for you or pose some sort of health risk or cause skin damage. I am not your doctor or your licensed skin care specialist, so I am only passing on a little of what I know in order to help you continue with your own research.
What I discovered in my limited studies is that some body and facial scrubs are not so good for you. Their exfoliating ingredients range from nut shells to polymer beads to salt and sugar. Let’s face it, exfoliating feels wonderful! However, nut shells and other ground matter have sharp edges and who wants to be scratched? Polymer beads are round and smooth and leave the skin much more intact, but they’ve been found to last forever, making their way into the rivers and oceans and harming marine life. As for salt, it’s a great option, but the edges of salt crystals are still sharper than that of sugar and it may not be what you want for use on delicate areas of the body or if you have sensitive skin.
That leaves sugar! While I would recommend removing as much of it from your diet as possible, I’m giving it my approval , so far, as a scrub. The coconut oil is just about the most wonderful thing you can put on your skin and the combination will leave you soft, moisturized and much, much smoother.
A natural source of glycolic acid, sugar already contains the ingredient that a lot of over-the-counter, spas and dermatologists offer to remove dead skin cells and encourage cellular turnover. It’s an alpha hydroxy acid, and since your homemade scrub is mild, it will be safe to use a couple of times a week in the evenings. Some stronger formulas, available in stores and from spas and professionals, will recommend wearing a sunscreen if using alpha hydroxyy acid formulas during the day. You can read more about that in this article from Huffington Post here.
Sugar is also a natural humectant, meaning that it draws moisture from the air into your skin – and that’s a good thing.
Some scrubs can do your skin more harm than good and you can learn more about that in this article from The Sidney Morning Herald. More info, including safe recipes for sugar scrubs that include honey, avocado oil and other natural ingredients can be found in this ETimes article.
If someone needs to hear you say, “This is for you, ‘because you are so sweet!’”, homemade sugar scrub might just be the perfect token of your affection.
Now for those FREE printable tags – just click below and you have a whole sheet of tags that you can print on cardstock. Attach a pretty ribbon and tie to your jars of sugar scrub! Could I have made it any easier, folks?
Questions? Comments? I’m happy to chat, because you are so sweet!
Don’t You Just Love a Freebie?
February is often called the Month of Love. There are many stories that claim to tell the story of Valentine and that makes it difficult to tell fact from fiction. Some dislike the whole notion of Valentine’s Day if they aren’t in a relationship with that one special someone or if their special someone is reluctant to participate in a show of mush for a day.
I prefer to think of Valentine’s Day as a nudge from above to remind us to show anyone and everyone a bit of extra thoughtfulness and let them know that they are special to us.
My favorite story concerning Valentine tells of him being suddenly imprisoned for his faith. He feared that his loved ones would not know what had happened to him or where he might be. So, reaching out through the barred window of his cell, he plucked leaves from a trailing vine (which happened to be the shape we’ve come to know as a heart) and, with a pin, pierced holes in them to spell out “Your Valentine”. One by one, he kept dropping them to the street below so that eventually, someone would notice them and those he loved would learn of his whereabouts.
True or not – I love this story. It’s not one involving a love-struck couple, but one of sacrifice and bonded hearts. I think it helps us to look at Valentine’s Day as something more than just romance.
How about that? You’ve gotten a free story to go along with your First Friday Freebie!
Let’s take a look –
Display a little love in your home with this wooden sign encouraging you to “Choose Love”. It measures 3 ¼ inches tall and 11 1/8 inches wide. The floral letters are outlined in black to make them pop against the light wood grain look of the background. It hangs easily with the attached twine.
To enter to win the “Choose Love” wall décor, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “Happy Month of Love!” You’ll need to leave your comment before midnight TONIGHT, February 7th, 2025.
NOTE: An occasional problem occurs with subscribers not receiving confirmation emails. Should this happen, email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com so that I can report it and have the issue resolved.
If you are new to Midwest Storyteller and haven’t subscribed, you’ll need to do that before entering to win. Head to the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page where you can fill in your email address and then watch for your confirmation email. You’re not officially subscribed until you confirm by email.
Smuffy and I have our own brand of romance on my “Life with Smuffy” page and you might love my “Laugh!” page. If cute felines make your heart go pitty-patter, head to my “Phoebe June” page and you’ll find a dose of catitude. .
Remember to be sure to share the content you enjoy here on your social media such as Facebook, Instagram and “X”. If you save things on Pinterest like I do, hover over the photo and “pin it”. Help me get the word out!
On the “Freebies” page, you can see what readers have been winning every month.
A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight, February 3rd, by leaving a comment which says, “Happy Month of Love!”
For the complete First Friday Freebie rules, click here.
Love you, Dear Readers!
How to Get the Book OUT of You!
I have a question for you today. Do you have a book in you?
If the answer is anything other than “absolutely not”, then maybe we need to have a little chat.
I’ll be posting another update on my Morgan’s Landing book series soon, as well as news on the screenplay, but today it’s time to ask you – Do you have a book in you?
Do you have a family member who has led an amazing life or survived a major ordeal and their story needs to be told? Perhaps that person is you!
Do you have scribbles, sketches and ideas stewing in your brain all the time, yet you’ve never sat down and put it all into a form readers could enjoy?
There is a huge difference between something that is easy and something that is simple. Easy indicates that the activity will take little to no effort. Simple means that the process is going to be relatively uncomplicated. There’s a big difference! Getting your story out of yourself and into written form is simple. Getting it ready for the world can get you way into the weeds.
I came across this again the other day and thought I’d share C. S. Lewis’ sound advice and toss in a few of my own thoughts. (Yeah, right – I’m sure the world’s been waiting all these years for me come along just so I could add just the right touch to round out his advice!) I do believe I have one piece of advice that he omitted to share. Here’s what he had to say –
[photo]
I don’t think the great C. S. Lewis’ advice could get much better. If all he’d ever written were The Chronicles of Narnia, he would certainly have learned a thing or two along the way. While that series, due to the motion picture industry, may be the first thing that comes to mind, he has much more to offer, so be sure to delve into all the other things he’s written.
For the twenty-first century writer, we need only to give the obvious tweaks, such as:
1. Turn off the radio. And the TV. And the podcasts. And all the other stuff. You are not looking to put things into yourself – you are wanting to draw them out.
2. When he recommends you read “good books”, I doubt he is referring to “trash you like”. He is speaking of good, solid literature. Read old stuff, folks. Really old stuff. “Avoid nearly all magazines” would now have to be termed, “ditch nearly all social media”. Not only is it a time-sucker-awayer that will cause you never to write, it will influence you to write the way others want you to write. Don’t be a victim of the influencers.
3. Absolutely! This one goes without saying. Learn to craft a sentence, even if passersby think you’ve finally gone off the deep end and taken to muttering to yourself.
4. Read that one over and over again. If you don’t have a passion for what you write, how are you going to face the thing day after day?
5. When he uses the word “pains” here – he’s not kidding around. You will edit and edit and re-edit, trying to be sure your reader grasps exactly what you’re trying to convey. Ask me how I know.
6. This is valuable advice. Keep all your musings and writings. I used a character in a play I wrote years ago as a pattern for a character in Book 3 of Morgan’s Landing. I have a folder full of “seeds” that I’ve scribbled down at writers’ group meetings that may someday become something.
7. Well…I agree with the great C. S. Lewis here. Don’t, under any circumstances, use a typewriter. However, do use a computer. If you keep writing in spiral books and binders, you’ll only have to type it all into the computer at once later and that, my dear readers, is a drag. Spiral books and binders are for capturing ideas and taking notes, but get your actual stories into the computer (and backed up) as you go. Whether you self-publish or go with traditional publishing, you will not be submitting a paper manuscript anywhere.
8. This one should go without saying, but C. S. Lewis realized that it can be a problem, so get a dictionary and learn how to use it.
Now, for the overly obvious writing tip that the famous author omitted. DON’T WAIT! START NOW! The story within you deserves to be written and honed and shared and that will never happen if you keep putting it off. Carve out the time and start right away.
Leave a comment and let me know if this has encouraged you to move forward and get that great story out of the depths of your soul and formed into something that is ready to share with the world.
The Latest Freebie Winner!
It’s time to meet my most recent winner of the First Friday Freebie. The delay is my fault – I dove into heavy editing and barely came up for air. I even took an informal vow to do nothing else till I hit “send” on this manuscript, even promising myself I wouldn’t take down Christmas décor until it happened. Fruity Pebbles changed my mind for me when she began crawling and pulling up to things. Christmas had to go for the benefit of her safety and my sanity. She’s now as busy as I am.
Still, there’s a Freebie every month. Check out the First Friday Freebie rules below. You’ll find out how simple it is to enter to win. This is a special monthly gift for my email subscribers only.
Let’s meet January’s winner –
Christine from Boonville, Missouri.
Christine is shown here with “Weekly Schemes” organizational pad and pen set. She’s a natural organizer, so this will help keep her on track.
As an email subscriber, Christine enters often. She did have to comment as directed in the freebie post on the day it arrived in her inbox. I require this tiny bit of effort each month in order to prevent spam and make sure you’re on your toes and paying attention.
I send freebies anywhere in the continental U. S., so don’t think you’re too far away to enter.
If you’d like to see other past winners and their gifts check it out here on my Freebies! page.
You can see the original First Friday Freebie offer for the one Christine won here.
If you’re reading this and haven’t become an email subscriber yet, please do that today. Hopefully, my freebies, not to mention the stories, recipes and other great content, have enticed you to do that.
NOTE: Subscribe with an email you intend to keep and check the week after the drawings. This is my only means of notifying winners. If it isn’t up to date, you may not get your gift!
We live in a life filled with gadgets and you’ll find that this blog can have a different appearance depending on whether you are on your computer, tablet or smartphone. You can easily navigate in the menu under “CONTACT”, fill in your email and hit “SUBSCRIBE”. Confirm your subscription when the email arrives. If you’ve don’t receive a confirmation email, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com – it seems that from time to time, a subscription will get “stuck”.
Subscribers get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month. You’ll also receive encouragement, healthy recipes, short stories, lots of laughs and updates on the books I write.
Again, comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win.
Freebies enable me to reach more people. I count on you to share them with your friends and family. When you share on MeWe, Facebook, Instagram, X, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also. Subscribing is free. Freebies are free.
On February 7th, you’ll see the new Freebie. Enter to win that day. A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight CST. Then, check your email in the days following.
Smartphone reminders help.
Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.
Subscribers, be ready to enter to win on Friday, February 7th, 2025.
Here we are in February, the month of love! What do you love doing in February? Do you avoid the push toward commercializing the idea of saying, “I Love You” or do you jump in with both feet and make homemade Valentines? Leave a comment and let me know. Even though we should focus on showing love to others every month of the year, I think February serves as a nice reminder to pour it on extra thick! I’ll have mine with chocolate.
Scheming for a Better Year in 2025?
I hope you’re enjoying your new year and that you are filled with a sense of hope and expectation of better days ahead.
It’s time for my First Friday Freebie and one of you will win if you are an email subscriber and you take the time to enter to win.
Let’s take a look –
For some reason, even if the flipping of the calendar doesn’t prompt us to lose weight, exercise, read more books or keep in closer contact with friends and loved ones, it seems to prompt at least some degree of resolve to get better organized. I’ll do my ever-so-small part to help you.
This “Weekly Schemes” pad and pen set lets you lay out the work week ahead of you so that you can better plan the things you need to tackle, the places you need to be or maybe even the honey-do list you’d like to make out to motivate that special someone.
I fantasized for a brief moment that I might receive one of these from Smuffy with instructions for me to fill out a sheet and hand it to him every week. Somehow, I think that’s going to remain a fantasy. His own project list is already full.
The pad itself measures 8 1/2 ” X 5″. I expected it to offer 52 sheets to carry you through the year, but no! There are 70 sheets. That could carry you well into the next year, but I confess that my first thought upon discovering this was that it would allow me to deal with those times when “life happens” and I have to rip off my best laid schemes when they gang aft agley, send them through the shredder, and make out a whole new plan.
Don’t blame me for that last sentence. Robert Burns owns part of it. You can read, “To a Mouse” (1785) unless, of course, you’re a wee sleekit cowrin tim-rous beastie. If that’s too much for you, read “Oh! The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss and remember, “Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.”
To enter to win the “Weekly Schemes” pad and pen set, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “Oh! The Places I’ll Go!” You’ll need to leave your comment before midnight TONIGHT, January 3rd, 2025.
NOTE: An occasional problem occurs with subscribers not receiving confirmation emails. Should this happen, email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com so that I can report it and have the issue resolved.
If you are new to Midwest Storyteller and haven’t subscribed, you’ll need to do that before entering to win. Head to the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page where you can fill in your email address and then watch for your confirmation email. You’re not officially subscribed until you confirm by email.
Chase away the winter gloomies with my “Life with Smuffy” and “Laugh!” pages. If you get snowed in, be sure to try out some great healthy recipes from my “Food Freedom” page.
Remember to be sure to share the content you enjoy here on your social media such as Facebook, Instagram and “X”. If you save things on Pinterest like I do, hover over the photo and “pin it”. Help me get the word out!
On the “Freebies” page, you can see what readers have been winning every month.
A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight, January 3rd, by leaving a comment which says, “Oh! The Places I’ll Go!”
For the complete First Friday Freebie rules, click here.
Enjoy the bright, new path ahead. Happy New Year!
December’s Freebie Winner!
Yes, it’s a whole new month and a whole new year, but illness and travel plans kept December’s First Friday Freebie winner from getting her photo to me in a timely manner. If you take a moment to check out the First Friday Freebie Rules at the link below, you’ll find out how simple it is to enter to win. This is a special monthly gift for my email subscribers only.
Let’s meet –
Ginger from Prairie Home, Missouri.
Ginger is a repeat winner because she enters often (and maybe because some of you aren’t entering often enough). Here she is with her holiday kitchen set that I’m sure she’ll enjoy using when the 2025 holiday season rolls around.
As an email subscriber, Ginger has entered often ever since they debut of Midwest Storyteller. She did have to comment as directed in the freebie post on the day it arrived in her inbox. I require this tiny bit of effort each month in order to prevent spam and make sure you’re on your toes and paying attention.
I send freebies anywhere in the continental U. S., so don’t think you’re too far away to enter.
If you’d like to see other past winners and their gifts check it out here on my Freebies! page.
You can see the original First Friday Freebie offer for the one Ginger won here.
If you’re reading this and haven’t become an email subscriber yet, please do that today. Hopefully, my freebies, not to mention the stories, recipes and other great content, have enticed you to do that.
NOTE: Subscribe with an email you intend to keep and check the week after the drawings. This is my only means of notifying winners. If it isn’t up to date, you may not get your gift!
We live in a life filled with gadgets and you’ll find that this blog can have a different appearance depending on whether you are on your computer, tablet or smartphone. You can easily navigate in the menu under “CONTACT”, fill in your email and hit “SUBSCRIBE”. Confirm your subscription when the email arrives. If you’ve don’t receive a confirmation email, please email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com – it seems that from time to time, a subscription will get “stuck”.
Subscribers get an email reminder each time there’s something new – like when there’s a FREEBIE on the First Friday of every month. You’ll also receive encouragement, healthy recipes, short stories, lots of laughs and updates on the books I write.
Again, comment as directed on the post that offers the Freebie and you’ll be entered to win.
Freebies enable me to reach more people. I need you to help me share all the fun with your friends and family. When you share on MeWe, Facebook, Instagram, X, Pinterest, you’ll give them the opportunity to subscribe and win also. Subscribing is free. Freebies are free.
On January 3rd, you’ll see the new Freebie. Enter to win that day. A winner is chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight. Then, check your email in the days following.
Smartphone reminders help.
Take a moment make yourself familiar with the complete Freebie Rules by clicking HERE.
Subscribers, be ready to enter to win on Friday, January 3rd, 2025.
What inspires you in the winter months? Cleaning closets? Delving into your family tree? Snuggling up with cocoa, books and a warm kitty? Or, are you like me and you are resolved to do a couple of hundred pages of editing. Leave a comment. I’m waiting to see your interesting answers to that!
New Year’s Revolution
Just a quick note today to speak a blessing on your year ahead. May you enjoy a loving family, devoted friends and may you prosper in everything you put your hand to. God longs to bless you in so many ways and I hope you realize them all.
Of course, as I have said before, I’m looking for a following of folks who will join me in a movement to have New Year’s Day shifted to the first day of spring. Who wants to lose weight, start new life journeys and re-create themselves when it’s really time to curl up with a good book and wait for the sun to come out and the snow to melt.
In the Spring, I’m ready for all those things, but not now – so that’s why I’m planting the seeds of a New Year’s Revolution. Resolutions can wait till March when I’m naturally invigorated and energized. Right now, I want to read, snack and work up my mental nerve to tackle something like cleaning closets. Soon, I’ll see Smuffy caressing his seed catalogs and dreaming of warm days.
Even though I think this photo of my back yard in winter is beautiful, it never takes me long to tire of it when the real thing hits, which it is supposed to do this weekend.
Happy New Year, Dear Readers! Blessings on all 365 days of it.
Wrap the Year in Gratitude
I’m always seeking out ways to thrive, not just survive. I have to confess that it’s been a weird struggle lately. Just weird. Life this year has felt much like it might be to find yourself gripped to a pendulum that swings first one way and then the other.
This year seems to have had a few themes and some of them weren’t much fun. We called it the year of the breakdown. Things just kept quitting on us. At one point we had both our daily drivers, the work van and the classic Buick Super all undriveable and once. Then, we dealt with clogged sewer lines and a toilet that actually broke. I wish now that I’d kept track of all the small appliances, gadgets and the like that I had to drop into the trash can. The clothes dryer tried it’s best to leave us, but Smuffy got it fixed. This only angered the washer, which threw an apoplectic fit and never recovered. Smuffy needed a few repairs also. That wasn’t fun, but he’s recovered just fine.
But what did it all matter? We got our second grandbaby! Fruity Pebbles is a joyful handful. Lil’ Snookie has been a joy and he’s now just turned five years old. Things are going well with “Morgan’s Landing”, my novel series, and Book 1 is due to come out in early 2025. To top it all off, award-winning Hollywood screenwriter, Alan Roth, offered to write a screenplay for a series based on “Morgan’s Landing”! It’s now finished and on the market. Seven well-known producers are taking a look at it and as of right now, five have asked to review the entire book as well. The pendulum does swing, doesn’t it?
This also seemed to be the year of the funeral. We saw close friends lose parents. We lost cousins. We lost multiple folks that we’d shared community and church life with. Some of them seemed to mark the end of an era. You know what I mean – those rock solid old folks whom, despite their years, you half expected them to live forever. Smuffy lost one of his brothers who had suffered a lingering illness and we experienced the pain of losing our 27-year-old niece following an auto accident. We just hung on while the pendulum swung.
Yet, we laughed, we celebrated birthdays and holidays and gave thanks for every treasured face that remained. We prayed. We worked. We did all the mundane things that take up so much of life.
As I felt the pendulum swinging, I would pause at times and tell God how grateful I felt for everything I had been given – been allowed to keep – been blessed with unexpectedly. Still, I struggled. I felt my stress level rising. I felt there weren’t enough hours in the day and not enough of me to to around. I had multiple melt-downs and some of them weren’t pretty.
I do my best each week to listen or watch The Poddy (the podcast featuring Pearl Barrett and Serene Allison of Trim Healthy Mama). It has solid, balanced health information, but topics can vary. Last week, as I listened, they discussed how practicing gratitude can boost your physical and mental health. One particular thing Pearl shared was that, while listening to another podcast, she’d been stuck by the lady’s testimony that though she’d often stopped and made note of things she was grateful for, she felt the Lord asking her when she was going to start to walk in gratitude. There is a difference! I encourage you to watch this podcast. (You’ll have a few minutes of info on their new book and banter at the beginning amongst the two sisters and their announcer, Danny, before they get to the meat of the thing.)
I had been feeling for a week or so that God was giving me peace and lightening my stress load even though I still had just as much on my to-do list as ever. As I watched this Poddy, however, I really stepped into a new place of calm. Rather than nudging myself from time to time to stop and thank God for what I do have or reprimand myself with a “look at your life – you don’t have anything to complain about” or an “it could be a whole lot worse”, I felt a whole new sense of connecting with the Giver and walking through life as though I’m weaving my way through and around all the gifts – simply wading in them.
I suppose this includes this mess on my desk and this book edit I need to finalize. Yes!
If this year has been “one of those years”, I encourage you to round it out with gratitude before starting the new one. I saw a great idea on social media. Take a big jar and keep a stack of little notes nearby. Each day or each week, every family member makes a note with the date and writes down the most fabulous thing that happened that day or week. At the end of next year, dump them all out on the table and have a Gratitude Fest while you read them all. Is there a better way to party on New Year’s Eve?
I’m grateful for you, Dear Readers!
Have Yourself a Merry Little Freebie
I shiver as I type this, for I’ve just driven home from coaching my weekly Trim Healthy group session and there is a Midwestern chill in my bones. It may not be officially winter here yet, but my thermometer did not get the memo. It sneers a nasty 23 at me and, as if to ask me if I’d like to see what else it’s capable of, dares me to take a look at my app and see that it’ll register an ugly 18 by morning.
It is officially the First Friday, however, and that means there’s a Freebie.
Let’s take a look –
This festive kitchen set will put you in a cheery mood as you prepare all those holiday goodies and with company coming, it’s always nice to have a fresh, clean set on display. There are two “Joy” potholders, one oven mitt reminding you that “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” and a matching drying mat.
To enter to win the holiday kitchen set, all you need to do is “Leave a Comment” on this post, saying, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!” You’ll need to leave your comment before midnight TONIGHT, December 6th, 2024.
NOTE: An occasional problem occurs with subscribers not receiving confirmation emails. Should this happen, email me at barb@midweststoryteller.com so that I can report it and have the issue resolved.
If you are new to Midwest Storyteller and haven’t subscribed, you’ll need to do that before entering to win. Head to the right sidebar or use the menu to navigate to the “Contact” page where you can fill in your email address and then watch for your confirmation email. You’re not officially subscribed until you confirm by email.
You’ll find plenty to smile about on my “Life with Smuffy” and “Laugh!” pages. If you need to de-stress a little in the midst of all the hustle and bustle, take a short break and enjoy yourself there. If guests are coming ahead of the big day and you need a super simple meal that will knock their red and green socks off, try out my great recipe for “Creamy Leek Soup with Chicken and Sweet Potatoes” on my “Food Freedom” page.
Remember to be sure to share the content you enjoy here on your social media such as Facebook, Instagram and “X”. If you save things on Pinterest like I do, hover over the photo and “pin it”. Help me get the word out!
On the “Freebies” page, you can see what readers have been winning every month.
A winner will be chosen at random from those subscribers who enter before midnight tonight, December 6th, by leaving a comment which says, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”
For the complete First Friday Freebie rules, click here.
As you celebrate the season ahead, have hope, take joy. Be thankful for the loved ones you’ve been blessed to have in your life and hold them close. Have a blessed December!