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 –

Freebie Winner January 2025  https://midweststoryteller.com/

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  –

Weekly Schemes  https://midweststoryteller.com/

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!