Making Steps Count

As most of my readers know, I keep a count each day of my steps.

I also count all my calories which has become an easy task thanks to the MyFitnessPal app on my smartphone.

At the end of each day, I log my steps (or miles) at the beewellforlife.com website.

I get "credit" for the steps and calories, and a donation is made to the American Diabetes Assoc and the Women Heart group from the Bumble Bee Foods that sponsors the program.

I have done this for a few years now, and it only takes a minute to help out others in this small way.

I have just recently joined the Walgreens Rewards program, and have checked it out online to track my "points"

There is a load of info on that site, and I discovered the Walk with Walgreens program that they have.

Wouldn't you know, I can track my steps there too, and with the new rewards program they have, I can earn points on my account with my steps.

And when I have earned enough points, I can redeem them for a discount when I check out in the store or online.

Saving money is always right up my alley - so it is a win-win situation all the way around.

Free Layaways!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kmart for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Free is always good, and when you find a free layaway progam, it is even better.

I haven't used a layaway program in years, but I can see where this holiday season , it might be just the thing to do for all those holiday gifts on the list.

So many times we have gone shopping only to find that what we wanted to get was already gone - and the remaining selection was not going to fit the bill.

So, shopping early this season, and putting everything on layaway makes sense, especially now with the Kmart's Big Layaway Giveaway that is going on until 11/17/12.

Beginning 9/9/12, K-Mart will be giving their layaway customers a chance to have their remaining balance paid in full.

Each week there will be a lucky winner, so the sooner the layaway is placed, the more chances you have of winning.

And to make using this service easier - layaways can be placed online - and the payment can be made online too.

That certainly makes it easier than in the old days when you had to drive down and make the payment each week at the store. These days that saves on the gas too!

And everything in the store can be put on layaway, unlike many of the other stores such as Walmart, Best Buy, or Toys R Us.

Time to go shopping for some high-tech gifts on that holiday list:

Check out why layaways at K-Mart are the best deal compared to some other major retailers:

 

Serene Swim

The days are getting shorter as the sun sets earlier and earlier each evening.

The swim area at the lake is now closed for the season - there was hardly anyone in it the last couple of weeks anyway.

The cooler nights have made the water too cold for most folks.

But not us.

We are still down there everyday - parking outside the gate and walking down to the beach.

I will admit, that lake water is a bit chilly at first, but once we get ourselves motivating along the swim lines, we are just fine.

In fact, the air is colder than the water when we finally drag ourselves out of it.

And yesterday was one of the best days this past season that we have had for swimming.

The water was pure glass - we were gliding through it slowly - taking care not to create splashes that would disturb that serene surface.

It was beautiful - and the late afternoon light added to the mood perfectly.

As we were drying beside the water's edge, just before we left, Mother Nature gave us a wonderful gift.

According to my phone, it was exactly 5:40, and that must have been when the underwater dinner bell was rung.

All over the surface of the lake, little mouths were popping up and catching the floating bugs for their dinner.

It was quite the site, and to think we almost left directly after the swim due to the chilly air.

Our lake has given us many gifts through the years, and I can see she still has a few surprises left for us.