~~~GIVEAWAY TIME!~~~

Here's how it will work!

If you are ALREADY a follower (aka, one of the "Faithful Five"), Tweet, blog, call, e-mail, text, etc., your friends and send them over here. Then they need to FOLLOW me and leave me a comment saying they're following me and that you sent them (along the lines of "Hi. Ann sent me and I'm following you now.").

If you are NOT a follower (aka, you want to be and found me some other way), follow me and leave me a comment ("Hi. I follow you now."). Send your friends, family and loved ones along. Once you're a follower, they can say you sent them in their comments (see above).

I will randomly select ONE comment through random.org and the winner will receive Party Pals and the Mediterranean Focaccia Bread Mix, which is now retired!

Party Pals are mini drink buckets (Four 8 oz. servings) of MMM... Mojito and Juicy Watermelon Margarita drink mixes. Perfect for patio parties, or a quiet evening at home!

***BONUS ENTRY***

Go to my WEBSITE and tell me which product(s) are your favorite. Come back and post "I like ____ because ____" when you do.

***SECOND BONUS ENTRY***

Purchase something from my website.* Come back and post "I purchased ___ from your website today".**

THIS CONTEST WILL RUN UNTIL I REACH 50 FOLLOWERS. MORE OF AN INCENTIVE FOR EVERYONE TO PARTICIPATE! Referring followers will receive The Trio - single serving packet of Onion Onion, Garlic Garlic and Bacon Bacon!

* remember that shipping is $6.99 for any orders under $50, and 10% of your order for $50 and above. combining orders is a good idea, as is bumping up when you're close.

** do this for each product purchased to get the maximum number of bonus entries.

C'Mon...

It's free. All you have to do is follow, comment and be done! :)

Who doesn't like a little free Tastefully Simple here and there?

I'm cleaning up and out (a spring cleaning if you will), so check my other blog as well for some giveaways coming soon. I'll be posting those on the giveaway directory, but in the meantime, follow my other blog as well.

Incentives and Giveaways Coming Soon!

Do you like to get something in return for your efforts?

Do you like freebies just because?

Do you have a BLOG with more than 50 followers?

Here's the deal.

If you answered yes to any or all of the above, I've got something for you. Just e-mail me at simplycdd@gmail.com and tell me which it is. And follow me and stay posted.

In addition, if you have a heavy-traffic blog and care to do a giveaway for me, PLEASE e-mail me. I need some love around these parts and have things to give away. It'll be fun. Like the lottery, ya gotta play to win!

Tastefully Simple and... IKEA?

Yep. I went to Ikea today. One of my other hobbies is crafting - I like to sew and make cards. I also LOVE selling Tastefully Simple. I'm not particularly good about changing gears and cleaning up, because sometimes I don't finish what I'm working on before I want or have to move on to the next thing.

In any event, I decided that the guest room that only got used for 1 week every 2 years was being rehabbed. Out with the bed, in with some desks. Functional makes me happy.

I got 2 78" desks - 1 for sewing, 1 for paper crafting. I also got a 39" desk to do my Tastefully Simple paperwork - I will add shelves above this desk for my food kits and supplies as well.

Then I got a bookcase. To hold some supplies for crafting, and to put a TV on top of.

Yes, I know. What does this have to do with Tastefully Simple (besides the fact that I have a new place to do paperwork)? A NEW co-worker that I introduced to Tastefully Simple on Friday was AT IKEA. And when I spoke to her, she said, "Nick was asking me last night if the Parmesan biscuits taste like the Red Lobster ones."

I said "they do, without all the grease, but you can add butter if you like the extra grease".

He seemed excited, and I know I was. This meant that she actually took the catalog home and discussed it with someone. Which means I have a potential new customer, hostess, or recruit. I'm happy either way. A small mention turned into a second thought, about a product she had NEVER heard of.

Of course, my daughter doesn't like the biscuits (or many other breads at all - it has nothing to do with TS, trust me!), and she made the WORST face when my co-worker asked her if she liked them! Thanks, kid! I'm so glad you're on my side! :)

Spring Is Coming on Monday!!!

At least in the Tastefully Simple world! Monday, March 8 marks the beginning of the Spring/Summer 2010 catalog, complete with exciting new items, like the Cake Batter Chiller, already a favorite (as in -- on the second can favorite) in our house. No lie - the husband and kid fight over this stuff. I will admit, I'm not a fan of ice cream or cake batter, but I love a good milkshake. And THIS is a good milkshake-ish drink.


Add 1.5 cups of ice, 5 oz. of milk (we used 1%) and 2 scoops of powder, and blend.

It was so good, I went out and got this.

Yeah, I know. I wanted it all along, but the husband said no, until he tried to blend up his own Chiller and realized that it took 5 minutes and many stir/shakes to get all of the ice crushed on the old one! Yay for new blenders (and food processors). And yay for Spring!

Recipe Time!

One thing I love about Tastefully Simple is that the products are versatile. One thing that I don't like is that everyone's perception of Tastefully Simple is that it's "just dips and bread". SO not true!

Here's an example that I can't WAIT to try! It uses one of my favorite products, Fiesta Party Dip Mix. This is good as "just a dip", but it's also a good spicy seasoning. YUM!

So here's a recipe with this wonderful product:

Easy Chicken Recipe (Submitted by Amy Spikings (IL) and taken from the TS website):

2 Tbsp. Fiesta Party Dip Mix
10.75 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups crushed Blue Aztec Chips

Directions:

Combine Fiesta Party Dip Mix, soup and 1 cup cheese; stir to blend. Place chicken in a greased baking pan; top with Fiesta Party Dip mixture. Bake chicken, uncovered, at 375° for 35-40 minutes. Sprinkle crushed chips and remaining cheese over chicken; bake additional 5 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Part-Time Jobs ROCK

They really do. Part-time jobs are a break from reality. Think about it. You go to work - 9 to 5 (or whatever your hours are). You are serious, work hard and get a paycheck. But do you really enjoy it?

Not usually.

Part-time jobs are better. You can have fun. You can relax. Everything you make is 'extra'. It's not your bread and butter, it's the Tastefully Simple Rhubarb Strawberry Spread on TOP of the bread and butter (yeah, that was lame, but whatever).

Well, I've had part-time jobs. I was a cosmetologist. It was my break. Social vs. serious. But I worked hard for that money. I mean, I stood on a concrete floor with dress shoes on, contorting my body this way and that way, sometimes cutting my knuckles. My back hurt. You get the drift.

Well, an average Sunday for me would net about $100. But it was 6 hours of hard (but fun) work. Well, tonight, I made $116. Selling Tastefully Simple.

What did I do? I mailed catalogs to my aunt. I typed up a paragraph telling her to collect orders and send them to me. I used a calculator for 15 minutes, typed for 5, and made a phone call. A total of 30 minutes, 45 max, from start to finish.

Can your part-time job pay like that? Better yet, can your "REAL" job pay like that?

No, mine can't either. So my success with Tastefully Simple is important to me. Because if I can have a fun and easy FULL-TIME job, why wouldn't I want it? Life is too short to be stressed. Why else would the company's tagline be "the food you love, the time you deserve"? You don't think they were only referring to preparation, did you? :)

Anybody want to join me? I'm hiring!