Five Simple Ways to Improve your Password Safety Habits

FTC disclaimer:  I am a member of the U.S. Cellular Blogging Brigade.  This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own.  I only recommend products I believe in.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

I have always been frugal.  As that evolved into the digital age, I found myself having so many online accounts I couldn't keep track of them all, let alone the passwords.  I am a member of so many different points rewards programs and frequent flyer programs that I don't even know what all I have signed up for until I go to sign up again and it tells me I have an account.

One of my biggest headaches online was when my e-mail got hacked.  I thought I was safe using a foreign word as my password, but obviously there are people all over the world who use the Internet.

U.S. Cellular, The Fairfax Stone, and National Engineers Week

FTC disclaimer:   This is a sponsored post from U.S. Cellular.  All opinions are my own.  I only endorse companies and products I recommend.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

Did you know that National Engineers Week is this month?   Neither did I.  (My apologies go out to every in-law of mine as my husband is the only non-engineer in the family.)  Did you know that National Engineers weeks takes place during the week of George Washington's birthday?  This makes perfect sense to me because I always knew before he was president, he was a surveyor.  In fact, the smallest state park in West Virginia is less than an hour from my home, and it boasts the headwaters of the Potomac River, a boundary line that George Washington once surveyed.  The original stone he erected for Lord Fairfax is no longer there, but there is another to commemorate the boundary laid by (future) President Washington.

Snowed in? Apps to beat boredom!

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post as I am part of the U.S. Cellular blogger brigade.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 



Have you ever had your driveway cleaned out with a backhoe because there was too much snow for a plow?   Then did you wake the next morning and find an eight foot snow drift?   Well, if the answer is no, then you haven't lived in my town!  We joke that we have three seasons -- July, August, and winter.  So I know a thing or two about being stuck inside.  When I was in 6th grade we went to school only two days out of the month of January.  Back then there were no smart phones, if you asked someone what type of tablet they had, they would likely describe a composition book, and social media was the kid who went up and down the street arranging a big snowball fight -- but even those got old after so many days.

Weight Loss Resolutions and Wireless Weight Loss

FTC disclaimer:  I am part of the U.S. Cellular Better Moments Blogger brigade, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 


Long time readers of my blog will remember in May 2013 I attended a fitness camp for people to help them integrate faith into their fitness routine.  All of us were overweight, and it was physically the most demanding five days of my life.  But I'm glad I went.  I made friends, gained two pounds (it was likely muscle as we were doing weight training!  The next week I lost seven pounds) and learned so much.

No Shave November and Cancer Awareness

FTC disclaimer:  I am part of the U.S. Cellular Blogger Brigade and this is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 


November is a great time to put down your razor and pick up your cell phone to raise awareness for cancer.  With great devices from U.S. Cellular, like the iPhone 5s, it's easy to track charity donations, take selfies of that growing beard, or even use apps to see what you would look like if you added a beard to yourself.  (Not everyone works in a place where they are allowed to grow a beard.  My husband works in food service and is required to shave daily.)  But with an app he can join in on the fun.  Regardless of facial hair or not, you can still use your U.S. Cellular device to promote cancer awareness while on the go.

Keeping Your Child Safe This Halloween

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 


One aspect  of safety that is on everyone's mind this month is Halloween.  That means Trick or Treat for younger kids!  I remember how fun it was when I was growing up even if I never got any chocolate treats.  Everyone gave out hard candies because there were so many trick or treaters.  But it was fun to go door to door asking for candy.  For older kids this month means Halloween parties -- and sometimes mischief, but hopefully less mischief than my friends got into when we were growing up because now with cell phones you can check in on your children easier than our parents could -- especially since 47% of parents have a child with a cell phone and the average age for the first cell phone is 12.

How To Monitor Teen Drivers on the Road When You Aren't With Them

FTC disclosure:  This is a sponsored post by U.S. Cellular.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

I don't have kids yet -- but we are hoping to adopt.  We'll likely adopt an older child, so I'm already thinking ahead to my (not yet with me) child driving in a few years.  It's a lot to grasp on many levels. But I am glad that my phone provider has a service called U.S Cellular's Vehicle Monitoring System. The moment a child of mine has a driver's license I'm going to sign up for this.

So why would I feel so strongly about it?

Making the Most of Your iPhone at Summer Events, Fairs, and Festivals

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post from U.S. Cellular.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

In addition to back to school month, many fairs and festivals are happening this month.  There's so many fun things at them -- from the food (cotton candy!)  to the music, to the events (demolition derby anyone?)

I love to travel and U.S. Cellular Keeps Me Connected

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post from U.S. Cellular.  All opinions are my own.


U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

I love to travel.  When I was growing up, my mother used to tell me my room had more maps hanging on the walls than the school did.  I'd sit and study maps for hours dreaming of places I'd never been, wondering what life would be like there, and eventually getting interested in penpals because I wanted to learn about other places.  I read every book about places our library had.

Tips For Keeping Your Kids Safe Online

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post from U.S. Cellular.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

Did you know that June is Internet Safety Month?  (Personally I think every month should be Internet Safety Month, but this is a good time to remind everyone about the cautions of social media in our lives.)

The Pew Research Center found that 74% of teens 12-17 access the Internet on a Smart Phone, tablet, or other mobile device, at least on occasion.  I remember when the big safety suggestion was having one computer in the house and having it in a public area.  That's not realistic these days to help safeguard your kids, so one of the most important things is not giving them a Smart Phone until they show enough maturity to use it properly.   But this is also a little difficult because there are so many things for children to access -- TV shows, magazines, music, videos, and even books.

Making the Most of Your Summer Using iPhone Apps

FTC disclaimer:  I am part of the U.S. Cellular Better Moments Blogger campaign.   I received compensation for this post but all opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

My life is so busy right now!   I'm sure everyone can say that, because as summer begins, so do activities.  I remember a Facebook post last year about this time where someone said, "Seriously people, there are other days in May besides this Saturday".   This year I am feeling like everyone chose the 23rd as the day to do things.  After I chose it as my wedding date!   I heard of nothing going on that day when we picked it -- last July.  Since then I've learned of four weddings, a bridal shower, a flea market,

Taxes, Smart Phones, and Finances

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post.  I am part of the U.S. Cellular Better Moments blogger brigade.  All opinions are my own and I only recommend items I think are helpful and beneficial.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

When I first started blogging, I wrote mainly about deals I got from coupons, freebies received in the mail, and other small money saving items.  I was a coupon queen before it was cool, and once popularity hit, seemed like deals dried up, so I started looking for other ways to save money.  One of them which really surprised me, is to do my taxes myself.  Did you know that many accountants charge by the number of papers you have?   Last year I earned a small amount of interest in a few different accounts, won a sweepstakes prize, blogging income, and I had a whole slew of 1099s.  There was one for three cents!  That would have cost me an extra $20 or more at the accountant in town just because I earned three cents in interest.  So I did my taxes myself.  I was even able to do them on my tablet with TurboTax -- and if you are lucky enough to get a refund you can track it with MyTaxRefund if you e-file.  Some might think that because I like to save money I should have gone with IRS Free File but that only allows you to file federal and I wanted to file my state taxes as well.  Another app that will help you file federal taxes is H & R Block for iPad.  While not free, TaxAct Ultimate Bundle for $17.95 uses an interview process to help save you money.

Our Online Dating -- And Marriage Story

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post from U.S. Cellular.  I am part of their Better Moments Blogger Brigade and I was compensated for this post.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 


I remember chatting on the phone for hours with one of my best friends when we were in high school.  These were the stone ages.  It would be common for a pesky brother to pick up the phone and listen in or demand to call his best friend.  For privacy, we'd often take the phone in a closet.   When I think back to those times, I'm so thankful for my iPhone!  If I want privacy, I can just walk to another room -- or take a walk.  I was first on the Internet in 1985 and it was nothing like it was now.  I was at a computer camp and we were able to use a clunky modem to connect to a teacher's bulletin board.  We only got to experience this amazing thing for a couple minutes because of long distance charges.  (Remember those?)  I never would have guessed when I first saw the Internet that I would meet my husband online someday.

Back in 2002 I tried eHarmony, but never really found anyone.  I have friends who have had success there, so that's why I tried them first.  There is now even an eHarmony App but back when I was on it, I was using a clunky desktop computer.  (This was five years prior to the iPhone coming out, and back then when I thought of an app I thought of the nachos supreme at the local casual dining restaurant.)

Then I went to Match.com  Of course, it's got an app now, too, at Match.  I even saw a friend of a friend there but I didn't have much luck there either.  I tried a few others. Then I decided to go the more inexpensive route.  Most people love these two services because they try to match you on so many things more than just surface qualities.  I remember finding a man on eHarmony who we communicated a few times, and I was hopeful but it didn't go anywhere.  One that didn't exist at the time was Coffee Meets Bagel where you can meet someone who is friends with at least one person on your Facebook friends list.  That would have been very interesting, but like I said, that didn't exist then.

I use my iPad Air and iPhone for everything, so it was natural I would download the OKCupid app.  Interestingly, this is a location based app where you can search for people in your area, as is Plenty of Fish.  However, I just searched for men on OK Cupid who had a high friendship match.  Some of them seemed a little too chummy.  I can only get so excited discussing football. But there was one man. . .

He and I hit it off as we started exchanging messages.  There were a million and one reasons I knew he wasn't for me me.  Distance (he lived four and a half hours away), age (we can crack a joke and the other one look blank because I'm 10 years older than he is.   I had to go on youtube to show him who Clara Peller was!)  But, we kept chatting with each other because there was nothing better to do.  (We met online on Feb 14, 2013.  That's absolute proof we had nothing better to do! Ha!)  As we kept chatting, we started liking each other more and more, and fell in love as much as you can online.

We continued to chat and use Facetime.  I went to a fitness camp for a week in Texas.  Each time I went to gather my gear after a workout, there was usually a text saying something like "I'm so proud of you.  Keep it up."   One of the ladies there glared at my iPhone and muttered something about how her husband didn't text her anything like that.  (Note to men:  you have a cell phone, use it to charm the woman in your life.  By the end of the week everyone knew about how sweet my "kinda-sorta boyfriend" was.)   Kinda-sorta because we hadn't met yet.  I can remember when meeting someone online was kind of talked about, but now it's pretty normal.  After all, we have cell phones with us all the time, and we're no longer confined to a desktop to meet someone.

We finally met, and it was everything we both hoped it would be.  He visited for a couple days and we were dating by the end of it, but not saying anything much to others because he wanted me to meet his family before we were official.   It was during that visit we went to Blackwater Falls State Park and took this photo.  It's one of my favorites, and our first photo together.  In fact, it's on the cover of our guest book!  Of course, I had my U.S. Cellular iPhone with me, and that's what captured this memory.

The next two months there were more visits.  Then my mother went in the hospital.  I was told if she didn't improve in 24 hours I would have to pull the plug.  I remember the first person I called was Terry -- I was bawling and managed to pull myself together enough to say "I need you".  He was able to arrange to be off from work, and as my mother improved she begged him to move to West Virginia to help with her care.  In November he did so.  That is an amazing man to move quicker than he originally intended because the woman he loves needs help caring for her mother.  My mother passed away a few months later, but she knew he was planning on asking me to marry him.

June 13, 2014 Terry asked me to marry him in a room full of fifty teenagers.  You can read the details of that here.  The amazing thing was that we were at a youth camp, and one of the rules was no cell phone usage until after dinner -- so none of them had their phones with them to capture the big moment.  I tossed mine to a college student at the next table in the dining room and he was able to capture this photo.  I never would have had a camera with me if I hadn't been carrying my iPhone in my pocket.   U.S. Cellular has a great Parent Child Agreement Form that is free to help you talk to your children about proper cell phone usage.  I know if I was in a room with 50 teenagers without a phone, it is possible to convey how important rules, safety, and courtesy are to young people.

Of course, one of the first things I did was snap a photo and post it to Facebook.  There was a joke at the camp because it was so difficult for the group to pick up a signal to use their phones -- but none of them had U.S. Cellular.  With the U.S. Cellular 4G network I didn't even have to go to the one spot that had better reception to post:

I said yes!

Our wedding is a little over two months away at this point.  I've done plenty of wedding planning using my phone.  Everything from texting and calling for addresses to mail invitations to posting updates on Facebook.  I've ordered items for the wedding, and even jotted notes I wanted to remember.   Needless to say I've spent a lot of time on Pinterest getting ideas for the big day -- although I have to say it's going to be the most unique wedding ever.  I booked a plane ticket recently for a friend who is a master illusionist who is going to do a show at the reception.  I have done price comparisons for candy for the candy buffet.  My cell phone has been a great tool to help me get organized!

My fiance and I are far from unusual, as about 35% of marriages start with online dating.  Sixty three percent of mobile phone users go online with their phone -- in fact on Valentine's Day 2015 my fiance couldn't even visit because the weather was so bad.  We spent Valentine's Day the same way we had spent it two years prior -- online.  Facetime might not be the way I dreamed of spending Valentine's Day, but I was glad I was able to spend it with him in some manner.  

Staying Healthy with your Smart Phone

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post from U.S. Cellular as I am part of their blogger brigade.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

Some of you may remember I attended a fitness week a few years ago where we learned about ways to be healthy and lose weight.  On one of our first sessions, we discussed apps where we could use our phone to help us keep healthy.  Usually you see a group of teenagers on their phones, but in that moment, a group of adults grabbed our smart phones and started downloading apps where we could scan items in the grocery store and see how they lined up health wise, count our calories, and track our fitness.  Do you know I even used those very apps to help me decide what was the healthier option when eating out?  I lost 18 pounds with the help of my Smart Phone.  I'm not alone, because 34% of Smart Phone users have utilized apps to help them lose weight, and 66% have used apps to help track fitness and exercise.

There are a myriad of ways that your smart phone can help you stay healthy.  Unfortunately I've had to call 911 way too often when my mother was so sick, and that's probably the number one way most people think of when it comes to health with a phone, but there's so many more ways one can help you.  One of the most amazing ways my smart phone helped us was during a blizzard, a utility line was down across our driveway.  The power company didn't care and wouldn't check it even though I said my mother needed her dialysis treatment.  They merely told me everyone was an emergency, even though dialysis is the matter between life and death.  I posted on Facebook.  Even without electric I was able to use my Smart Phone.  Friends with power really picked up the ball.  Someone even tweeted the governor.  A friend of mine who writes for a newspaper was able to pull a few strings, and we had the line checked and were able to get out of the house so my mother could have her dialysis treatment.  I was never so thankful for the U.S. Cellular 4G network as I was at that time.

photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Another way that your phone can help you stay healthy is through telemedicine.  The Pew Research has shown that 1 in 3 people have gone online to research a medical condition.  Cell phones have made it easier than ever to contact physicians.  While not meant to replace visiting the doctor, it can certainly be helpful for those who live in remote areas or have mobility problems.  I know one of the benefits my mother had with her insurance was the ability to call a trained nurse 24 hours a day.  How handy is that?  It was certainly helpful to know when something needed to be something we were seriously concerned with or if it was a side effect from new medicines.  Some doctors even provide telemedicine for things like colds which account for 25% of all doctor visits.  Be sure and ask your primary care physician and insurance company about any relationships they have with telemedicine providers. They may be part of the Vitals or NCQA which provide even more information on this new frontier of keeping you healthy using your smart phone.

One of my favorite ways to keep myself healthy using U.S. Cellular is with my pharmacy's app.  I can scan the label on my meds using my iPad Air 2, the app will ask what pharmacy I want to pick my prescription up from, and in an hour, I can go through the drive through and hopefully avoid germs from others as I get sick pretty easily.  Who knew that in addition to high resolution and nice screen size the iPad can help keep you from getting sick?

Using an iPhone App to Succeed at your New Year's Resolutions

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post from U.S. Cellular.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

As I write this, we are almost two weeks into the new year.  I've heard much about resolutions.  I'm not one to make them, although this year I made goals for this year.  They were mainly financial, organizational,  and weight loss related.  (I have a wedding dress I need to fit into by May.)  Of course those can cover nearly everything in life.  I've been sitting down and breaking these larger goals into smaller ones so I can accomplish some each week.  How is it going?   Not bad. One thing my fiance and I want to do is read a book together each month.  We're right on track for January's book.  I haven't started writing my ebook yet, but I'm right on track with that as well.  As for fitting into my wedding dress goal?  That one needs worked on some, and organization?  I'm having the house remodeled, and it's hard to be very organized during that, so I'm currently working harder on some other goals and leaving that one to be tackled when time is better.

One thing I am thankful for is how smart phones have made life easier.  From being able to connect with family and friends, texting photos, and for some of my friends, just taking their U.S. Cellular iPhone 5s to the park so they can be with their children while answering e-mails for their home business.  U.S. Cellular's 4G LTE service makes this possible as it is ten times faster than 3G.

Today, I'm going to discuss apps that can help all of us reach our new year's resolutions.  (Or as I call them goals because I see goals as something that can be revised and I don't give up on them.)

photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Let's first discuss my goals and how I can use my U.S. Cellular iPhone 5s to help me accomplish those goals.

According to a 2014 U.S. Cellular survey, 43% had a new year's resolution to save money.  One app that is useful is the Mint Bills (formerly Check) app.  This free app allows you to link bills, bank accounts, and credit cards so you know exactly how much money you have.  The app also will set up reminders so you don't about paying a bill, and also you can set up automatic payments.  How are my goals going thus far of saving money?   Not well at all thanks to a cold spell where the water pipes froze then burst.  There will be a large bill to replace the water pipes, but unplanned emergencies happen, and it's now just a matter of continuing to decrease spending and increase savings.

I work at home,  and that means I have to be very wise with time management or I could spend the whole day playing games on my cell phone.  (I still play them, but I only play them during breaks from working.)  One app that is helpful to keeping the day on schedule is called Any.do .  You can create lists of things that need done and their order of importance.  You can set alarms (is it time for my break yet where I can line up candy?)  It is even possible to synch your phone's schedule with your laptop.  So how is this goal going for me?  I'm pleased with my progress so far this year.  I think breaking my larger goals into daily do-able parts is helping a lot.  (As well as setting alarms so I can spend time with my games AND get my work done as well.)

I think the most common New Year's Resolution is losing weight.  I have used my U.S. Cellular iPhone 5s in the past for weight loss.  Everything from geocaching for exercise to tracking calories. Another great app that is also free is Runtastic Six Pack.  You can create a virtual personal trainer to work out with you right on your phone.  I know compared to some personal trainers I have worked with, I'd much rather have a virtual one.  Ha ha!  Your virtual personal trainer will even show you the proper way to do new exercises.

Also, the Up by Jawbone Fitness band synchs to your U.S. Cellular iPhone or Samsung Galaxy. It can help you track what you eat, exercise, sleep patterns, as well as daily activities.  It even has an idle alert that will tell you when you've been sitting too long.  How handy is that?  How are my goals going in this area?  Well, let's just say trying to live a week with no water isn't exactly a perfect time to lose weight since I can't wash any produce and am trying to only eat things that don't dirty dishes.  Once my water starts working again, though, I'll be right back on it.

Another resolution many people make is spending more time with friends and family.  An app that is helpful for that is the GroupMe app.   This allows you to make categories of people so you can text them all at once.  I can see this being very handy for me this year with one of my categories being "bridesmaids".  How easy would this make life being able to share videos, events, photos, and texts with a whole group at once?

I am so glad to see the year 2014 over.  I'm looking forward to this new year, and I think it's going to be one of my best ones ever.  By not giving up on goals and keeping going when I don't always accomplish what I wish I would have is certainly one way to do that.

How To Prepare Your Cell Phone For Winter

FTC disclaimer:  I am part of the U.S. Cellular Better Moments Blogger Brigade.  This is a sponsored post but all opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them.

I live in an area where the majority of our severe weather happens in the winter months.  From the time I was little, I learned winter preparedness.  In the late summer or early fall until winter hit, my mother used to stick a couple extra non-perishable groceries in her cart every time we went to the store so there would be extra food in the house in the winter in case we couldn't make it to the store.  There were a number of rituals we had in getting ready for winter.  In fact, my future mother in law was visiting this weekend, and I had to explain the boxed meals to her.  During Hurricane Sandy, we were hit with a blizzard from that storm, and my mother and I were stuck in the house with no electric (which meant no heat) for three days.

Shop like a Pro on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

It's that time of year again to don your Santa hat or your elf suit and start buying gifts.  Can you believe next month it's Christmas?  I know I can't.  My gift closet is unusually sparse this year.  One year I started Christmas shopping BEFORE Christmas the year before.  That's how I have often been, but this year has had so many things going on that I haven't been able to stock the gift closet like I usually do.  So that means buying more like an "average" person.  I'll obviously be watching sales and shopping bargains, but this is certainly not like the year I had my Christmas shopping done before spring thaw!

U.S. Cellular's Shark Tank Sweepstakes

I love entering contests and sweepstakes!  Who doesn't love to win a prize?   Well, did you know that U.S. Cellular is sponsoring a new sweepstakes in conjunction with ABC's show Shark Tank.

Last year U.S. Cellular launched the contest called "Spotlight on America's Backbone" in which they asked for small businesses to enter to win a prize of free advertising and free wireless for a year.  This year, U.S. Cellular expanded on the idea and gave consumers access to more tools and support to grow their business.

First, there were casting calls that were held giving small businesses a chance to appear on national TV on the show Shark Tank.  U.S. Cellular worked with the show to make it possible for some entrepreneurs to be able to give the casting call a try!

Now, it's time for the second phase of the sweepstakes (and you'll want to be sure and enter!)  This time one person who lives within the U.S. Cellular footprint will be given a trip to to Los Angeles.  The winner will receive a VIP seat during the entire pitch process in California, lunch with the casting team, and an opportunity to interact with the "sharks" during the day to ask any business questions if the winner is a small business owner.

U.S. Cellular is committed to those who live within their marketing area in a way that other wireless providers are not.   This is just one example of their commitment to communities that U.S. Cellular services.   (Think no one ever wins these things?   Think again!  Our local high school won a $100,000 grant from U.S. Cellular in 2009!)

In addition to schools, U.S. Cellular champions small business owners and wanted to give access to some tools that would make them successful.  By operating these casting calls, it was an unprecedented way for U.S. Cellular to provide people in local communities an opportunity to pitch their ideas and hopefully see their business grow.

You can enter daily through October 31 if you are in the U.S. Cellular marketing area.    Just go to https://www.shadowsharktank.com/  to enter.

Also, if you haven't already, please visit this link to download your free parent / child cellphone agreement compliments of U.S. Cellular.

FTC disclosure:  I am part of the U.S. Cellular blogger brigade and this is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.

How to Watch TV with No Cable Bill

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post.  All opinions are my own.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

When my mother passed away, one of the first things I did was get rid of the cable TV service.   I'm still finding ways to watch some of my favorite shows and have a routine with others.  One of these ways is using my Apple iPhone 5s to watch shows, and of course you can also watch them on Samsung Galaxy S5..   I have a data plan through U.S. Cellular, and their reliable 4G network means I have access to my favorite shows when I want to watch them without cable TV.

For starters, I have downloaded the apps for some of the larger networks.  Just today I watched a reality show that was aired on Thursday.  It was one of the shows I hated giving up when I got rid of cable.

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If your favorite shows aren't accessible through an app, Google Play and iTunes sell a number of shows at $1.99 to $2.99 each with a season pass that gives you a discount.  (I might have to do this to watch Jill Duggar's wedding.  With me planning my own wedding, I have been really wanting to see that episode!)

Other options are Hulu Plus and Netflix.  For $7.99 a month, you can watch HD shows on all your devices including your computer, tablet, and phone!

If you are already a subscriber to one of these services, then maybe you would be interested in a Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire TV to stream these services to your television.  They allow access to thousands of channels and low cost rentals, even the ability to play games.

Being able to stream shows is great for people on the go.  That way you can watch them at your convenience.  I watched one of my favorite shows today while I was exercising.  Maybe combining the treadmill or spinning could help you lose weight in addition to catching up with your favorite shows.  I know I'm trying it!

Of course if you watch a large variety of shows, it might be better to keep your cable service so that you can see everything you want to watch, but I will say that I haven't missed cable TV very much.    Even when my mother and I had cable TV, I didn't have a TV in my room, and her lift chair was in the living room, so I found myself streaming shows even when we had cable.  I even regularly watched a channel that we couldn't receive on our local cable line up, but it was accessible to me because of an app on my phone!  How neat is that?

I haven't had cable television since February, and I love the accessibility of shows on my mobile device.  Just this past week I introduced my fiance to a new series I discovered on my tablet.  How cool is it to be that in the know about television without cable?   Personally I think it's pretty great.

One last thing, with back to school, it's a great time to talk to your children about phone safety and responsibility.  You can download a FREE Parent / Child agreement to help you talk to your teens about some things that might be otherwise difficult to bring up with them.    Get your free agreement by Clicking Here.

Back to School With Technology and U.S. Cellular

FTC disclaimer:  This is a sponsored post, but I only recommend products I believe in.

U.S. Cellular offers a FREE PRINTABLE Parent Child agreement to help you discuss safety of the Internet, cell phone usage, limits, and courtesy with your teen or tween.  You don't even need to be a U.S. Cellular customer to access this, although I have been for 10 years and highly recommend them. 

I've already been enjoying the back to school photos my friends are posting online.  With school back in session for a week now in some places (Really!  One of my friend's children started in July!)  I wanted to write a post about using technology to get organized, stay on top of things to do (including assignments) and a bit on how technology is used in the classroom.

A recent U.S. Cellular survey showed that 74% of households with children under 18 have a tablet.  That's a great tool for your child to use, especially when a child is sick and misses school.  It's easy to message a classmate  -- or even a teacher to get assignments which can be completed at home.  I know when I was a child before the advent of so much wonderful technology, teachers were scrambling to figure out a cost effective way to get snow day work to us during January 1985.  The solution -- as I remember it anyway -- was make the kids who lived in town go to school one day (the fire exits were snowed shut!).  We were loaded down with more snow work and we were to call our friends who lived in the more rural areas.  How easy would it have been for the teachers if they could have posted assignments online and we could have picked them up instead of those of us who lived in town having to relay the message via phone to those who were still snowed in!  Even if you live in a warm area, the same holds true -- if school is missed for any reason, it's easy to get assignments.

Did you also know that tablets are being used in the classroom?  I'm a little more familiar with this because I have friends who have special needs children and I am more aware of them using tablets.  But all children can benefit from educational apps, eBooks, online videos to enhance learning, and Internet access.  A recent Student Mobile Device survey showed 87% of students would like using eBooks instead of traditional textbooks because it would be much less to carry in their backpacks.   I know when I was in school, from about November through March, we were required to take home all our textbooks every day even if we didn't have homework -- in case it snowed and we were off school a day.  That would have been much easier if we had eBooks.

Accessing the Internet opens up a whole world of learning.   With U.S. Cellular's reliable 4G LTE high speed network, this can be utilized for many different learning activities.  I remember when I was in second grade, we were class pen pals with a school from Oklahoma.  How fun would it have been if the technology existed back then to have used Skype or Facetime to have been able to "meet" each other at the end of the year?  Obviously, this could also be used to "bring in" guest speakers to a class who might not otherwise be able to visit.  My 4th grade class had a very unique opportunity -- we had someone from Australia visit.  My teacher had taught there for a couple years and a friend of his came to visit.  In the 1980s, the only way we could have a guest speaker was for them to physically come into our classroom.  Now, there's the technology available that a guest speaker could be on the other side of the world and be able to interact with a class of students in another hemisphere.

Another notable app is Teachers Assistant Pro which is a $3.99 download.  This allows teachers to keep track of classroom behavior and achievements as well as communicate with parents to help cut down on paper usage.

Dropbox is another great app.  This is a cloud based file sharing app.  Be it teachers storing data or students working together on a group project, this is a handy site to use.

Notability gives users the ability to take notes, record a lecture, journal, sketch ideas and more.  It can even be shared with others using iCloud or Google Drive.

But what about funding?  Every school could use more funding, right?  Well, U.S. Cellular is bringing back the Calling All Teachers promotion.  If you live in the U.S. Cellular footprint area and are a public school teacher, apply at DonorsChoose.org and register as a U.S. Cellular affiliate teacher.  U.S. Cellular is fulfilling $1 Million of teacher projects for the 4th year!  So if your classroom is needing something your budget doesn't allow, apply and your project might be chosen!  Your project must be submitted between August 11 an September 21 to be eligible for this year's funding.

Finally, back to school is a great time to go over cell phone usage with your child.  The FREE Parent Child Agreement is a great tool to be able to start a conversation to make your child's cell phone experience safe and enjoyable for everyone.

FTC disclaimer:  I am part of the U.S. Cellular Blogger Brigade and this is a sponsored post.