Swagbucks Daily To Dos

I promised I'd be back with some more details on how I earn swagbucks each day, and with this snow day upon us I've got some extra time (yay!)

When you go to Swagbucks.com, you will see a To Do List on the left hand side. These are super easy (and  quick!) things to do each day. There is a Daily Poll, which is a simple question that you answer for 1 swagbuck, and the NOSO or No Obligation Special Offer. The NOSO is just a path of offers that you can choose to do, or like me, just click through. You earn 2 swagbucks for finishing the path. These two things usually take me a minute or less to do.

The other task in the To Do List is Toolbar. You will earn 1 swagbuck just for interacting with the toolbar. Installing the Swagbucks Extension Toolbar is a super easy way to do almost anything you can do on the actual swagbucks.com website, but there is one really great addition to the use of this toolbar. By using the toolbar, you are alerted when there is a new swagcode.

Swagcodes are A W E S O M E. They are codes that are posted on facebook, twitter, and swagbucks blog that you earn points for by finding. Several are posted each day in various venues and all you have to do is enter them to earn the points. Swagcodes have a time limit, so you'll have to check often to see if a swagcode is available.

I'll post more of my tips tomorrow. No school for students and staff don't have to report in until 10! Get your swag on people!

-Courtney

Just buzzing again.

You all know how much I love being a BzzAgent. This month I've got to try Schick's Hydro Silk Sensitive Care Razor...whew, that's a mouthful. I've used my trusty Venus razor for some years now, but what is there to lose in trying something new, especially when that something new is free.

This razors boasts "a hypoallergenic moisturizing serum that hydrates your skin for up to two hours after shaving while the 5 curve-sensing blades protect your skin from irritation." This razor also has a very unique handle so that the blades on the razor don't lay on the counter and the moisturizing serum doesn't stick to your counter and come off. I found that the razor does leave my skin super smooth, but the moisturizing serum doesn't seem to work as well as my Venus embrace. I don't think that matters so much as long as you use a good shaving cream. I like this razor and think that the blades get super close, but I'm not sure yet if I'd give up my Venus embrace for it.

I also used the Try Me Free! Skintimates coupon and got a free Shave Creme. I found that the shave creme smells very plain, like baby lotion, and isn't as moisturizing as my current shaving cream, Whish's shaving cream in Blueberry.

I do have some more of the $4 off coupons for this razor, so if you're interested and want to give it a try, just let me know in the comments below and I'll mail you one out.

- Courtney

Hop up out the bed, do my Swagbucks.

I discovered Swagbucks in January through one of my favorite email subscriptions, Money Saving Mom. I was very curious as to what exactly Swagbucks was, so I signed up and read all I could about it...then I started earning.

Swagbucks is basically a website where you can do different things to earn "swagbucks" which are basically points. When you have a certain number of swagbucks you can redeem them for giftcards, or in my case, PayPal dollars...C A S H.

Here's a peek at my Swagbucks home page. You can earn swagbucks by doing tons of things - searching the internet, shopping online, printing off and redeeming coupons, watching videos, playing games, and taking surveys. It's so easy to earn these points. I earned 2,500 points in only 18 days typically spending around 30-45 minutes each day online.

This month, I was able to redeem 2,500 swagbucks in exchange for $25 into my PayPal account. My goal is to be able to make $25 each month and save it all for Christmas purchases.

I will post again this week on exactly what I do to earn the most swagbucks I can each day, but if you're already interested in signing up, which I think you are, please use this link: Swagbucks

- Courtney

Influenster Jolly VoxBox Review!

So, sorry no clever title. It is late and I am tired. But, I wanted to review this Voxbox for all of you to see all the goodies and let you know what I think. I did receive these products complimentary from Influenster for the purpose of testing and reviewing. All the opinions are my own. 

First up, Skinny Cow Candy. I received an ENTIRE box of Skinny Cow's Peanut Butter Creme Divine Filled Chocolates (wow, what a name). Anyways, these were so good. For real. In the box were six packages and each package had three pieces of chocolate. So, if we do the math, that's 18 pieces of chocolate...holy skinny cow. They tasted like a creamier version of Reese's peanut butter. My husband even approved. I don't think that I ate an entire package by myself at all. One of the greatest things? The package is only 130 calories. 

The next product is perfect for this time of year aka cold and flu season. Also, when you watch all those sappy Christmas movies and embarrassingly get misty eyed when Christmas is saved. Puffs Plus Tissues were a lifesaver and have always been my go to brand for tissues. They are gentle but strong and get the job done well without scratching up my nose and irritating my face.

This product was a little different, but very handy indeed. Duck Tape Ducklings are these adorable mini rolls of decorative duck tape. We all know its great to keep some duck tape on hand for those things that only duck tape can solve, but these change the game. They come in a variety of colors, patterns, and designs and make crafting and creating with these so simple. Chase and I used some to add a little flair to our remote control (and keep the back on it because he always drops it off his side of the bed and looses the batteries...) 

And my favorite parts of the box...the makeup. Who doesn't like getting new makeup to try?! NYC New York Cosmetics supplied their HD Color Trio Eye Shadow in Long Beach Sands. At first I thought I would really love this, but it isn't the greatest. NYC New York Cosmetics is available in most drugstores for a very low price, which is a definite pro, but personally I love my Wet 'n Wild eye shadow trio much more. The colors aren't bad, but the brush is a little too skinny for me and doesn't apply a large enough area of eyeshadow. I used it a second time with my own makeup brushes and liked it better, but I switched their recommendation for lid color and crease color and liked it much more. 

Last product in my Jolly Voxbox was a Show Off Lip Lacquer by Rimmel London US. I'm not sure on the exact shade because I couldn't find it anywhere on the lip lacquer or on my product card in my Voxbox. It's a neutral pink shade, if that makes any sense. It matches my lip color pretty well and looks good with my skin tone. It's very easy to apply and the applicator brush holds a good deal of product so you don't have to dip the brush in the product again when applying. I like the satin finish and the fact that it's similar to a lipgloss but not sticky. I would say that it's more like a liquid lipstick.

Overall I really liked this Voxbox and can't wait to try out more products from these brands and Influenster. If you want to check out more from these brands, you can click on the links above or follow them by using the links below for Twitter or Instagram:

Rimmel London Show Off Lip Lacquer 

@RimmelLondonUS/ #ShowOffLipLacquer

NYC New York Color HD Color Trio Eye Shadow 

@NYCNewYorkColor/ #HDColorTrio

Ducklings Mini Rolls 

@TheDuckBrand/ #MiniDucklings

Puffs 

@Puffs/ #PassthePuffs

Skinny Cow Candy 

@TheSkinnyCow/ #IndulgeWithSkinny

Have you tried any of these? Like them? Hate them? Let me know in the comments below.

Happy Holidays!

- Courtney

Have a Holly Jolly VoxBox..a what?

Hey everyone! So I'm back finally after a longer than long absence while I've been busy busting my butt at school. Now that it's officially Christmas break it's time to get back to things I do for me. One of which being this blog. I can't wait to show you all some great new things I've found and tried. One of which, being Influenster.

What the heck is Influenster? Influenster is a  free-to-join community of all kinds of people who love to give opinions of products and experiences. You can learn about new products from different brands as well as review products you already use everyday. You unlock badges and the more you do, the more you can get. 

What's good about it? They invite their most active members to participate in exclusive VoxBox programs where members receive complimentary products to test and review. In exchange, they ask members to do what they already love to do: share their opinions with their friends & followers on social media!

They also have a lot of challenges, and giveaways. 

When I first signed up, I was very unsure about leaving reviews to receive badges, and I pretty much just took the surveys and that was it. Well, six months later I receive an email saying that I qualified for the Jolly VoxBox...Not exactly sure how, but I am SO glad I did.

Before getting my Jolly Voxbox I decided I would just jump in and start writing some reviews. I just grabbed my makeup bag and searched for brands and starting writing. It was so easy and my influenster scored soared. In my current profile (below) you can see my influenster score, and my expert badges. Right now I've got the Sweet Tooth, Fashionista, Beauty Queen, and Pop Culture badges.

Here's a sneak peek at my Jolly Voxbox. I'll let you know what I think about all of these products in a later post, as well as tell you more about unlocking your Voxboxes and Brand Badges. 

Be on the look out for another post very soon about this Voxbox because I am LOVING all the products and badges I'm earning. What an invite to join Influenster? Comment below with your email and I'll send you an invite.

- Courtney

Courtney Claus is coming to town....

Holy macaroni people. It has been a LONG time since I have blogged! I blame the smelly little second graders that I have come to love (baha). School has been so draining! And I've got a TON to tell you about everything including, but not limited to, school things, birchbox, bzzagent, influenster (say what?!), all things social media, and life in general. Get ready people ;)

-Courtney

Back to School in Style

Friends, it has been forever since I've written a blog post. The hubs and I went a little internet crazy and used up all our gigs of data and had to go almost two weeks with no internet...kill me. But it's back and TOMORROW is the first day of school....How did that happen? I don't know...

All of my school friends were getting sick of my back to school status updates and pins and what not, but my room is finally (at least I think) finished. I can't even believe the transformation that this room has undergone. It only took me about two weeks, and lots of help from my lovely friend Sarah. 

Outside my classroom door. The board has different school locations and my teacher's helper moves the little round sign that says "We are here" to the different locations. My little owls are attached to clothespins that holds student work.

View from classroom door. The classroom library is straight ahead but we won't be labeling the books until this week and next. It saves me time and will help my students remember what the features of fiction and nonfiction texts. 

Closer look at my tables. The cups are hot glued and will hold ONLY a pencil. When that pencil breaks, they will hold it up and I will give them a new one. No pencil boxes on their tables for them to play with and drive me insane with all year.

Here are their table bins, right when you walk it. These will only come out when they need crayons, glue, or scissors. The ice buckets (which don't have labels just yet) will hold their journals. There is also a basket for notes, a lunch basket, and a nurse bucket. 

My closet = my favorite thing in my room. Thank you to Sarah for deciding to add the chevron. I was just going to paint it blue...

Calendar math. Self explanatory. I'll also add literacy centers and math workstations later in the year to the pocket chart.

Front board. Lots of things going on, so I sectioned them off with chevron border. Job chart is to the left with the tree and owls. 

I didn't add pictures of my desk because it is just pure craziness right now. I couldn't have the entire room looking first day of school ready. 

Wish me luck, right now I've got 29 on roll...oh boy.

-Courtney