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Hey Guys,

OK, totally excited about this new program!!! Yes, of course I'm still doing my usual InboxDollars and Ebates, but I'm very excited about this new one. It's promising, growing, and the cash accumulates quickly. You can join for free and get paid for clicking banners or you can start with $5 and start earning with ads. It's simple and fun and, as I mentioned, the money really adds up.

Check it out HERE

Giant Cinema - Giantcinema.com And Other Reviews

I've recently signed up with GiantCinema which looks very promising. It only just went live a couple of days ago but apparently, you earn 10% of the commercial's revenue for all your referrals. It seems promising and I'm excited. As usual, I will keep everyone posted on how it pans out.

Okay guys, now, as promised, here's my reviews of the recent services posted.

I continue to be impressed with InboxDollars. I have earned over $200 with them so far while putting in zero effort. As I've written from the start, you will not get rich with Inboxdollars but hey, I'm all for free money.

I'm less impressed with their sister site, SendEarnings. I continue to earn money with them, but on a much smaller scale. It doesn't seem that there are as many earning opportunities as there are with InboxDollars.

I will keep everyone posted on GIANTCINEMA.COM. So far, from what I've gathered online, it seems very promising.

Hooray for free money!

SendEarnings

After getting my most recent check from InboxDollars, I knew I had to find more sites like this. This site is just amazing, and I have only positive reports from their swift check delivery to their real-time customer-service chat.

Imagine my surprise then, when I stumbled upon their sister site, SendEarnings. It's the exact same site. Literally. I'm now earning double the money, daily.

Both sites have a $5 sign up bonus, daily emails, surveys, tasks, and many more ways to earn.

Happy Earning!

InboxDollars! Love!

And now for my InboxDollars update:

Well, I ordered my first check from InboxDollars and I have to say, I'm so impressed.

Now goodness knows I'm a big fan of Swagbucks, heck, they gave me 50 bucks on my birthday and I love everyone that sends me a good present,(Message me for my address!), but I find InboxDollars to be so impressive, that it's definitely turning into a close toss-up.

Firstly, InboxDollars give actual Cash. They have 24 hour a day online-chat customer service with polite representatives whose first language is English! There are emails, surveys, tasks, and searches daily. There's a $5 sign up bonus, and a daily spin where I also won $5 once. (Y'know when you see the $5 spin reward option but assume they never let anyone land on it? Well I did!)Generally, I find them to be very generous.

I work from home online so I'm online anyway. I might as well earn a few bucks while I'm in between work! I only spend a few minutes a day on it and while it's certainly not big bucks, if you're online anyway, it's free money and it's fun!

One quick note on Swagbucks, Swagbucks if you have facebook, you must go to the page called "Swagcodez". They literally update the moment there's a new code onto your newsfeed. It's an amazing tool!

Three GREAT Ways To Save Money (And who doesn't want to do that?)

I've been using 3 different money-making programs for a while now and am quite impressed with each. Please note that none of these are income earning. YOu will not get rich and retire to your lavish yacht in the South Pacific. But it's extra money in your pocket or clothing bought free from Gap for the kids. I'll take it!

1. EBATES - This is the simplest and most straightforward program to use. When you go to make an online purchase, just do it through the store's link on Ebates's website and earn a percentage of the amount you spent back! I recently got 2% back on a large Old Navy order and 10% back on a big Snapfish order. There are also daily doubles (Both Old Navy and Gap were recently at 4% back!) and special deals. Love it!

2. SWAGBUCKS - I love Swagbucks because there are so many ways to earn. I can do a search, watch a quick clip, partake in the daily poll, complete a task or survey, play a game, take advantage of a special offer, and much much more. I'm a fan of Swagcodez on Facebook so I get live Swag codes the moment they come in. I then enter it on their site for a free 3-12 bucks. They even sent me 50 Swagbucks for my birthday!

3. INBOX DOLLARS - Lastly folks, we have a great new site called Inboxdollars. It's very similar to Swagbucks, in that you can earn in so many fun ways, but it's even better because you get actual cash. CASH. Who doesn't want that? You get $5.00 just for signing up and each short survey is .50 cents minimum. You can also earn with searches, clips, tasks, and so on. They also have the same program as the above 2 sites in that you can earn money but clicking their link to shop online. It's always fun to get back a percentage of your shopping bill online! Enjoy earning everybody!

Back to the Grind

As summer draws to a close, and the children return to school, I look forward to the start of the year with an optimistic eye and a pocket-full of resolutions that I will hopefully stick with past Thursday.

Here in Israel, they stagger the first several days of school to get the children used to the new classroom. I myself find it wholly pointless. As it is, 3 out of 4 kids will be dismissed this year at 1:00. That's ONE O'CLOCK. They need 3 weeks to get used to that? Remember as a child when you'd go visit Grandpa and he'd sit on his porch swing with a steaming mug of Metamucil and wax nostalgic about how he had to walk his donkey uphill to school in the snow? Well that's how I've sounded for the past 2 weeks as I've grumbled my way through uniform shopping unnecessary-school-supply shopping, and incessant book wrapping. To their credit, while I ranted and raved the kids have all sat politely and listened while I....HEY! Where did they go?!

My boys' various schedules for the week look something like this:

Monday-First Day Of School from 8:00-8:05. Children will stand outside the building and look at it. They will then receive a cookie and go home. Mom gets to stay for an hour long orientation with speeches as stale as the complimentary borekas.

Tuesday-School from 8:00-8:50-Students may roam the halls, use the bathroom, and play in the school yard. They will then receive a cookie and go home.

Wednesday-School until 10:00am. Students will get to see their classroom and meet the Rebbi. They will be shown their seat, but no actual sitting until Thursday. We regret to inform you that the school budget doesn't allow for more cookies.

This goes on.

And this is just the boys. I have a whole 'nother schedule for my daughter that will either be the exact opposite times to ensure that an entire day is spent on schools, OR the exact same times to ensure that you have to somehow be at 2 places simultaneously. I can barely keep track of my kids even when they all have identical schedules, how am I supposed to keep track of this? Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if my daughter ends up in the Cheder, my sons end up in Bais Yaakov (in uniform), and I forget the baby in the makolet.

Is it summer yet?!

Thanks, kid

Now that bain hazmanim (loosely translated: 'summer') has officially started, my days have been a whirlwind of errand running, school supply shopping, and of course - work.
There's nothing like 80 women with double strollers crowding into the streets of Geula in 110 degree whether to fight to the death, using pocketbooks as weaponry if need be, over the last 15 shekel glue stick. (Same glue stick at Staples: .19 cents.)

I took a bus ride with my daughter yesterday to the mall to get her earrings fixed.
The bus was quite crowded and we were standing and holding onto a poll. The bus stopped and the two front seats became available.

"Ma! There are seats there! Let's go!"
"We can't, dear. Those seats are for old people."
"But Ma, you ARE old."

Thanks, kid.

Only In Israel, Only Me

There are certain things that I believe would only happen in Israel. An obviously secular cab driver expounding Erev Shabbos divrei Torah, an elderly woman yelling at you to put a hat on your child, only to have her friend yell at you to take the hat off your child, and so on.

Then there are certain things that would only happen to me. Things like walking across a crowded wedding dance floor only to land on my bottom. And of course, the previously discussed chicken underwear fiasco.

Not several moments ago, I had one such experience. My husband and I usually do our monthly shopping together. I don't trust him to get the correct things, and by the last aisles I can no longer push the cart(s!) on my own, so it's usually a combined effort. What with summer vacation, I stayed home with the kids today and tentatively sent my husband shopping this morning bracing myself for things like marzipan nuggets and olive chips ("But dear! It was on sale!").

Well as dusk turned to twilight, and the delivery still hadn't arrived, I started to get antsy. My husband opened our front door to go to Maariv, and low and behold, there lay a pile of 10 large garbage bags full of groceries, as well as several packages and cartons. We start dragging in the bags until we notice a large puddle of liquid at our doorstep. We start to search the bags frantically for what might have cracked or burst. After several maniacal minutes of flailing foodstuffs, we stood there, befuddled, staring down the mysterious liquid wondering what on earth it could be.

I strike upon a genius idea. I'll smell it. I get down on my hands and knees, (My workout for the day.) I gingerly put my nose to the ground, and I inhale deeply. It wasn't sweet, but it wasn't sour. It smelled sort of tangy, if you will. My husband, ever the active participant, decided to be as helpful as possible by standing there and calling out foods. "Is it juice? Is it toothpaste? Is it sprite? Is it marzipan?"

"No..."

"Soy sauce? BBQ sauce? Duck sauce? Oil?"

"No..."

"Shampoo! Ketchup! Wine! Fabric softener!"

As I'm prostrated there on my doorstep, nostrils pressed to the floor, husband excitedly yelling out random groceries, as if participating in some sort of foodie-themed charades, my upstairs neighbor's 8 year old daughter comes bounding up the steps, takes one look at me, and said, "That's cat pish. I saw him do it." and continues on her way.

Only in Israel.
Only me.

Tisha B'Av

Wishing all my readers an easy and meaningful fast.

I remember how meaningful shul on Tisha B'av used to be for me. With 4 young children now it just doesn't happen. Instead, I watch certain movies on www.Kiruv.org. There's a particularly moving one about the holocaust that has sort of become my Tisha B'av tradition, and it gets to me every time.

As busy mothers, just because we can't be in shul like we used to, we can still do everything we can at home to get into the proper mindset.

May Tisha B'av soon be restored to a Yom Tov speedily in our day.

Coupons!

Who doesn't love to coupons? I'm going to be one of those annoying little old women taking half an hour at the express checkout while I present 12 coupons for 4 items including discount prunes.

Anyways, this website is amazing! Everything from Cheerios to Listerine. Just print and shop!

Website: CLICK HERE AND SAVE!

Wrong Number!

I've had another 3 wrong number calls this morning and frankly, I'm fed up.

Apparently, my phone number is just one digit off from both a local funeral home and the most popular neighborhood burger joint. Just imagine the enormous burden this places on my monolingual shoulders. One wrong answer to, "Is my fifth order free?" can have catastrophic results.

From now on I'm just going to answer the phone with a neutral 'May I take your order?' so as not to offend either party.

Can I get you fries with that?

Some Assembly Required

My son's Birthday present arrived yesterday. He had been asking for a certain Playmobil set pretty much from the moment he blew out last year's birthday candles.

The box says, "Requires one and a half hours of assembly". They must be referring to a team of Japanese neuroscientists because there's no way the average layperson can put that thing together without a PhD and a nap.

Well...no less then four hours and several mishaps later, it was all set up and now he's happy. Until he starts kvetching about what he wants for his next birthday.

Laundry Day

Today is a laundry day. With the impending onset of the nine days I will be spending the day doing load after load after load of laundry. What's the big deal, you may ask?

Doing laundry in Israel is slightly different then doing laundry in America. For starters, there are 3 compartments in an Israeli machine. The middle compartment is for powdered detergent. I have no idea what goes in the right and the left, and the Japanese instructions have proved to be completely useless. There is also a dial that will typically go from 1-25. 4 is whites, 6 is colors, 18 is done. I have no idea what the other numbers are for but I assume it's somehow directly related to the right and left compartments.

Now while an entire family's soiled garments can fit into an American washing machine, the standard Israeli washing machines can fit no more then a shirt and a sock. Furthermore, in America, a nice big load will take half an hour. In Israel, it will take an hour and a half and the black sock will come out red, and the pink top will be gone.

Starting from the moment the warranty expires, an Israeli washing machine will become possessed. It will randomly start and stop, leak all over the place, neglect its spin cycle, and will then fix itself by the time the repairman comes over, only to break again as he closes the door behind him. I have found this to be the case with many an Israeli appliance, as if to openly mock my foreign naivete.

Now for the drying. The frugal Israeli woman would never use their dryer. Laundry gets hung out on the line. As a less frugal American, I'm open to the idea of hanging my laundry out to dry, but I take issue to displaying the family's assorted underthings for all to see. I was walking down Bar Illan Street the other day to find a woman on the ground floor hanging laundry out her front window. People on the crowded street were head-butting her unmentionables. No thank you!

Furthermore I find that when I hang laundry to dry, it dries so stiff that my boys' pants can pretty much stand up and walk away on their own. In addition, if you leave it in the Israeli sun for 5 minutes too long, the front will be bleached white.

So you see, it aint easy. Wish me luck!

My Afternoons

This is the promised continuation post from the My Morning post.

So the children are home at 1:30. There's an American lunch (Sandwich, pasta, etc.), as opposed to an Israeli lunch, (soup, chicken, sides), and then homework. I need to start work at about 3:45. If all is quiet I put in some more overtime earlier then that.

From 3:45-12:00, I need to work, make supper for the yeshiva, make supper for the kids, make supper for my husband and myself, and get everyone settled. I'm very lucky in that my husband is home from teaching from about 1:30-3:00 and again from 6:45-7:30 so he can help me out at the crazier times. Until then, I rely heavily on Bourbon. Just kidding. No, really.

Making supper is the hardest part. Ideally, I try to have the supper prepared before work so I can run into the kitchen, throw an already prepared pan into the oven, and run back to work. There are many other tips and tricks, you have to find what works for you. Some working women will put everything in a crock pot in the morning. Some will freeze 6 dinners on Sunday. Find what works for you to make your life easier!

I won't lie, it's hard. And when everyone is fed and in bed I breathe a sigh of relief that another day went off without a hitch.

I think it's important (and I'm talking to myself here too)for any busy Mom to look at her day and say, "In 10 years will my kids care that growing up the house was always spotless? Or that growing up their Mom was a crazy raving wreck?" Sometimes you need to be happy with just the bare minimum. Is it really that bad if supper one day was cereal and milk instead of seared fillet mignon with a charred pomegranate chutney? Think if your kids would rather the cereal and milk with happy Mom or the fancy dinner with loony Mom. If everyone got fed that day and everyone made it into bed happy that day, then that was a successful day. Anything else (like a spotless house, all laundry folded, all dishes washed, etc.) is extra. If it happened, great. If not, okay. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not.

Just think what your kids will remember 10 years from now.

Yesh Gleetch

Oftentimes, when something goes wrong in an Israeli government office, they blame it on a 'Gleetch B'system'. The difference between an American glitch and an Israeli 'gleetch', is that in America it really is an unforeseen computer malfunction through no human error of their own. Here in Israel though, a gleetch is entirely human error. They physically deleted your name from the system and call it a gleetch.

I'm in the process of trying to get my 4 your old son approved for speech therapy. I've been warned many times over that this is a process that will make you want to hang yourself. It takes months and months of legwork, forms, and tests (which all need to be MAILED in) before they'll even call you down for an evaluation appointment, and after that, it takes many months more while they take vacation, drink coffee, and delete your name from their system. Any attempt on your part to somehow expedite the process, such as suggesting such 21st century conveniences as fax or email, will go unheeded. I was genuinely surprised they didn't make me send over my forms via horse and buggy.

So I had finally gathered all the requisite paperwork. I had the ten pages filled out by his Gan teacher, I had the seven and a half pages filled out by myself, (with some linguistic assistance from my 8 year old, but that's neither here nor there.) I had the various test results from the doctor as well as the hearing test results, (Making THAT appointment would be an entire blog post on its own.), and all this was MAILED to the office for approval. Finally...FINALLY...after months of waiting...waiting...they called us for an appointment.

The day finally came. The culmination of almost a year of forms, tests, and runaround. We get to their office. We step up to the counter. They look at us, smile, and say, "Who are you? We don't have your forms here."

Turns out, she explained, that they had moved offices recently, and due to an unforeseen "gleetch", an entire carton of paperwork got "lost in the move".

Lost in the move?!
Did they lose a desk?
Did they lose a therapist?
Why did the receptionist arrive at the new location unscathed, but not my file? Frankly, I'd rather the file.

So we're starting the process again. Hopefully, there will be no 'gleetches' in the system. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if after all this I get a letter in the mail that due to a gleetch in the system, he's finally been approved...

...for a mortgage.

Amazing Deals Today!

There are some amazing deals listed today in my Daily Deals section, as well as some great sales that still haven't expired from last week. I'm really excited about some of these, I can't understand why my husband keeps hiding his debit cards.

2 of my favorite sales today are:

1. $10 off your first order PLUS $5 off every case of diapers! Code: Fiveaff Click here!

2. $26.99 for 16pc. Corelle! Click here: Click here!

Many more great sales listed in my daily deals section. Click here or click on the Daily Deals menu tab at the top of the blog. Check back every day!

Sundays It Begins Anew

I started a diet today
It's going to be different then the rest
I'm determined, I'm committed, my head's on straight
and I'm going to try my best

I'll stick to the plan completely
It isn't even a question
Healthful snacks and leafy greens
And Tums to prevent indigestion

The day started with half a grapefruit
I washed it down with some camomile
A half an hour of jogging later
I was looking forward to my next healthful meal

Lunch got a little bit iffy
Things became somewhat amiss
I had my large salad with salmon
But I washed it down with a Hershey Kiss

Listen, it was only one
You have no right to judge
I did my exercise! I drank my water!
And who can resist the taste of fudge?!

At 3 o'clock on the dot
It was time for my well-earned snack
Fat free yogurt and celery sticks
And my perseverance began to crack

It was only 7 Potato chips
4 Jelly beans- just a small taste
I deserve it! I'd worked so hard up till now!
And I wouldn't want it to go to waste

I did a couple of sit ups
A half-attempt at yoga, for argument's sake
Drank a bottle of water
Washed it down with a brownie cake

By the time supper rolled 'round
I was armed with new-found conviction
But the healthy choices I'd painstakingly planned
Just didn't come to fruition.

I started off with a protein
And a dollop of something green
But dessert was the rest of the potato chips
Behind the sofa so I wouldn't be seen

It didn't end there, though I wish it had
A box of cookies, some chocolate, what sorrow!
Pringles, ice cream, a doughnut or three
Oh well....there's always tomorrow.

My Mornings

People keep asking me how I juggle 4 kids (With my husband, sometimes 5!), 2 jobs, and 'me time'. I think the main trick here is multitasking and prioritizing.

I work for an American company from 3:45-12:00 in the afternoon/night, which means I have my mornings free. In addition, 2 years ago, I somehow volunteered to cook for a small nearby yeshiva and deliver the lunch and supper to their apartment. The job is really not that difficult: lunches are relatively simple and chicken is usually not that much prep time, just cooking time. I figured that while I'm home in the mornings cooking anyway, I might as well put my time to good use and ask my American job if I can start working overtime for them in the mornings.

So now: my mornings consist of going to the grocery to get the lunch and supper ingredients. (I go daily because I like fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, dairy, etc. and it's not far.)Then I come home and prepare the lunch, and then I put in overtime at work until the kids come home at 1:30. This time IS flexible. I can work an hour, 2 hours, no hours, etc. I do what I feel I can do. My schedule may not always reflect it, but I'm a firm believer in 'me time', or 'down time', even if it's a nice relaxing shower or bath with a magazine. Even if it's 15 minutes in bed with a good book. Even if it's half an hour in a cafe with an iced coffee, to each their own guilty pleasure. Even a manicure or massage. It's important to always know that YOU, and YOUR well-being come first. Women can easily become shmattahs these days with our lives being juggling acts, but keep your priorities straight. I'm guilty of forgetting this myself, but a happy and calm mother change the whole atmosphere of the house!

At 1:30, I drop off the lunch at the yeshiva and pick up the kids/meet the kids bus.

I like to keep my posts (relatively) short since I know that we women are always running somewhere and doing something so I'll split my schedule into 2 posts. The next post will deal with working afternoon while making 3 different suppers. I'm getting tired just thinking about it! (And hungry!)

Raising Israelis

There are a lot of things one needs to get used to as an American raising Israeli children. On the one hand, I want my kids to be well-bred and polite. On the other hand, I don't want them to be pushed around in the tough Israeli culture. It's hard to strike the appropriate balance between the two but I think I've finally hit upon success. Rest assured, before my kids enter any aggressive confrontation with a classmate or peer, you will hear a firm but polite, "Pardon me".

I also had to get used to the Israeli insults. I had always taught my kids that we don't call people not nice words. Imagine my surprise then when I overheard them hurl the worst Israeli slur of them all, "Shokolad Banana", loosely translated, "Chocolate banana". Silly me. I had been so busy warning them against such slander as "stinky" and "stupid", that I completely neglected to address the flavored produce epithets. I learn something new every day.

Then there's the language barrier. We went on a shopping excursion to the butcher the other day to place a large order. When my turn arrived, I proudly smiled at my brood, and confidently stepped up the counter and ordered 10 'tachtonim', which logically should have meant bottoms, but was in fact underwear. At the butchers obvious confusion I turned to ask my eldest for her linguistic assistance, only to discover that she was already off in the corner trying her hardest to blend in with another family. The next 2 children seemed to had vanished as well. I looked down lovingly at my baby; at least I still had the unconditional support of my youngest child. Until I noticed that even he was flailing desperately in an obvious attempt to free himself from the reigns of his stroller.

And here I thought I wouldn't embarrass my children until they were at least 14.

Amazing Robeez Sale!

I love Robeez. I've had kids that can get themselves out of straightjackets, (Not that I've tried....no, really....) but their Robeez stayed steadfast on their feet.

For 3 days, adorable Robeez and Stride Rite are 30% off!
Click here:
30% off Stride Rite and Robeez shoes. Code: SGSTRIDE
See more daily deals by clicking the "Daily Deals" link at the top of the page.