Free Starbuck's Refresher from 12-3pm on 7/13/2012

In our culture when the 13th of the month falls on a Friday (which is does three times in 2012, with January and April preceding this one in July) and reasons as to why abound.  Some are Christian relating to the 13 disciples, Judas's betrayal and the crucifixion of Jesus. 

Others are Norse legend involving Loki, the god of mischief uninvited arrival at a party of 12 other gods, making him the 13th and his orchestration of convincing Hoder (blind god of darkness) use arrow to shoot the to shoot Balder the Beautiful (god of joy and gladness) killing him and sending the Earth into darkness. 

Another is Knights Templar when King Phillip the IV of France who owed huge debts to the Knights Templar and decided the best way to take care it was to devise a plan  to have all of them rounded up and killed on Friday the 13th, 1307, accusing them all of heresy.  As they used medieval methods to torture confession, most were, but the plan to have the grandmaster,  Jaques De Molay, publically admit heresy before being burned at the stake, he instead used it as platform to explain what the King was doing and his final words were to curse the King and the Pope, who condoned the King's actions, would die by the end of the year; both did.
 
There is even a name for the fear of Friday the 13th:  Paraskavedekatriaphobia

But with this promotion at Starbucks, maybe one good thing can happen on this Friday 

This Friday from 12-3pm Starbucks is offering a free 12 oz refresher (Very Berry Hibiscus or Cool Lime) at participating stores (be sure to ask the location before ordering if they are participating).

May your luck be good and may God bless you:)

promotion found via Facebook link

York Photo - $1 Personalized Tote Bags (+S&H)

York Photo currently has a promotion for personalized tote bags for $1(normally $8.99) if you use coupon code  YORKTOTEAD until 7/30/12 and you can get up to a total of 3 bags at that price.

I purchased a total of 3 and shipping was $7.97 and for the above used templates from the "Browse Our Designs" and uploaded my pictures to add.   My total for 3 bags + Shipping and handling was $10.97; a savings for $23.97.

The first one is unfortunately one of the best picture I could get of my son on  graduation day as he has places to go and people to see and didn't have time (and it is a bit Frankensteinish with the van in the background looking like bolts coming out of his neck) using the Apple background.   I used to be a teenager once and understand how it is - you are so afraid you are going to miss out on something cool with your friends so I just had to snap as what I could as soon as possible.

The second one I used the "Love My Soldier" background and added the picture of my son's Edsel and put the "1959 Edsel" at the top.  I using this one to hold presents my son on his birthday and he can later use it to hold cleaning supplies and rags to keep in his car instead of scattering them all over the living room:)

I ordered one more for a friend with a flamingo design for her birthday, but not going to post it so it won't spoil the surprise   I don't have to worry about my son reading this as he has a much interest in reading my blog as I would reading all the strange text acronyms young people type back and forth to each other like IKD, *$,.!!!!,BTW, URHOT, XME, ZZZ or RUMCYMHMD.   

They also have other offers on their "Specials" page 50% off photo books using the code NEWBOOKS until 7/9/12 and the following good until 7/31/12 and shipping and handling will depend on what you buy,

• 5x7 Easel Panel for $7.80 using the code 40PANEL
• Adult T-Shirt for $7.80 using code 40SHIRT
• A Deck of Cards for $10 using code 50CARD
• Water Bottle for $10 using code 40BOTTLE

Also, if you are signing up with York Photo for the first time, you also get 40 free prints.
I learned of this coupon at Jessica's Coupons.


Disclaimer:  I have no affiliation with York Photo or Jessica's Coupons and have received nothing for this post - just sharing a deal.

June 29, 2012 Storm and Outage

Last Friday at around 3:00PM the sky suddenly became dark and the power went out. When I went outside the wind was so blowing fiercely it pushed me up against the car. It didn't last long, but the aftermath did for days as we were without power and there were trees down everywhere.

We later learned although no tornado was reported as touching down, the wind did get up to 90 miles an hour in some areas.












A tent was partially blown down


As were signs






Some roads were closed




On Friday, several businesses closed down and people were standing around outside. It was also hard to find an open gas station.


For the businesses that were open, such as this Wendy's, they were busy and the lines long



As I thought it would be up in a few hours, we went to the movies and saw "Chernobyl Diaries" but when I got home the power was still out so I toughed it out with drinks in a cooler and the back open but the screen door locked.

The next day went to a gas station up the road that had a Subway inside. As they had a backup generator they indicated they had been busy non-stop. The fella at Subway he got off his shift just before the storm but was called back in and was there until close and had opened that day and expected to be there until close that night.


We heard on the radio that it would not be until Wednesday midnight that we could expect the power to be restored and I ended up staying over at my ex's on the loveseat for a few days.   While I am only 5'6", it was a bit short, but I could complain because above it was an air conditioner with power:).   I gave Kyle his Season 2 of the "X-Files" that I had gotten for his upcoming birthday in August and we watched a few episodes while I was there. 

I also couldn't complain about the motorcycle he parked in the breezeway on the wood parquet that had cost a small fortune to install (but I wanted to), especially when on Monday AEP's website indicated that it would likely be Saturday at midnight.    I do have to give him credit for being on his best behavior up until the time we found out the power was back on and I got out to my car and he started complaining; it was like he just couldn't hold it in anymore.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend.

Southwestern Black Bean & Corn Salad

This is for Day 3 of 30 Days of Creativity and the theme is corn, so I chose to make a corn salad.  The recipe is based on this recipe at "Shannon Makes Stuff"; however I adapted it to use the full cans of corn, bean and tomatoes.

Recipe:

• 1 14-15 oz can whole kernel corn (drained)
• 1 14-15 oz can  black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 14-15 oz can diced tomato
• 2 tablespoon jalapeno pepper, finely diced
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 4 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 4 tablespoons vinegar (original calls for white vinegar, I used balsamic vinegar)
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all items together and allow to set in the fridge to marinate for at least two hours.  Can be served as a side salad or as a salsa with chips.  It starts out with a clean fresh taste tomato and corn taste then there is a mild kick due to the jalapenos and chili powder.

FREE DOWNLOADABLE 2012 OWL CALENDAR

Artwork by Carly Johnson Issac

If you have an owl lover on your Christmas list, My Owl Barn has collaborated with 45 artists to create a free downloadable 2012 calendar where you can choose what image you want for which month here, or download their download their pre-made calendar and print if off for gift giving or for personal use.

Here is a sample of what I downloaded (prints 4 months per page).