Happy Valentine’s Day ~ and a MyFreezEasy sale!

#affilate, #partner, #sponsor

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Many of you know that I have used MyFreezEasy‘s amazing freezer cooking and meal plans for years. I can’t tell you how much they have blessed me and my family. The basic idea is that, using MyFreezEasy‘s meal plans (organized by cooking and protein style), the home cook can shop with a list then take a few hours to combine meal ingredients in ziploc bags or 9″ x 13″ pans. The bags are then placed in the freezer. Then, all cooks have to do is to pull out the bags, thaw them a little, and either throw them into the slow cooker or pop them in the oven.

This has SAVED me! In so many ways, like: cost of takeout; evening exhaustion and lack of desire/energy to cook; frustration at coming up with new and different dinner ideas. And it has provided for us better use of finances, great nutrition for my family, savings of time and energy (because dinner is either already prepped or already being cooked in the slow cooker), and added time together in the evenings. And really, it’s given us happy people as well, after we’ve eaten delicious and satisfying meals!

 

 

So it’s your turn!

If you’ve never checked out MyFreezEasy, now is a wonderful time to do so. MyFreezEasy is an online membership; founder/president/chef/recipe developer Erin Chase sends members new recipes and meal plans each month via members’ online links. You can choose from these menu types:

• Traditional
• Dump Dinners
• Instant Pot
• Slow Cooker
• Gluten Free
• Paleo/Whole 30
• Keto
• Clean Eats
• All Chicken Meals
• All Beef Meals
• All Pork Meals
• 20 Meals

And if you don’t like all the recipes, you can swap them out for something more appealing to your taste buds.

We love them! We’ve had traditional, Tex-Mex, Asian, Greek favorites. There are delicious choices with and without dairy, with and without grains. With pasta or with rice. In soup form, sauteed, baked, and in my beloved Crockpot. There are so many options for so many meal types and food requirements.

 

Valentine’s Day Weekend Savings

Today and this weekend, you can save on both annual memberships (for $87 per year instead of $107) as well as monthly memberships ($8 per month instead of $10). And, you can even access a sample freezer meal plan plus cooking and food prep videos!

 

 

Just click on MyFreezEasy to check it out! We love MyFreezEasy. And I think you will too!

 

Enjoy! –Wren

 

DISCLAIMER: From time to time, FINCHNWREN may receive a free product or service. We share about these products with our own honest opinions expressed in our blog. We are not required to write a positive or glowing review, nor are we additionally compensated for these reviews. We share our own opinions, and our family’s opinion, of these products. If you purchase this product we may receive some financial compensation for your purchase (though it will cost you nothing additional). We’re disclosing this in accordance with FTC regulations.

Susanne Dietze’s new novel “The Blizzard Bride” ~ Takeover Tour & Giveaway (ends 2/11/20)

I’ve got a new book and a giveaway to share with you from JustReads Publicity Tours!

 

 

Author Susanne Dietze’s new THE BLIZZARD BRIDE is the newest book in The Daughters of the Mayflower series. Here’s the lowdown on the book:

 

A Blizzard Changes Everything

Abigail Bracey arrives in Nebraska in January 1888 to teach school…and to execute a task for the government: to identify a student as the hidden son of a murderous counterfeiter—the man who killed her father.

Agent Dashiell Lassiter doesn’t want his childhood sweetheart Abby on this dangerous job, especially when he learns the counterfeiter is now searching for his son, too, and he’ll destroy anyone in his way. Now Dash must follow Abby to Nebraska to protect her…if she’ll let him within two feet of her. She’s still angry he didn’t fight to marry her six years ago, and he never told her the real reason he left her.

All Dash wants is to protect Abby, but when a horrifying blizzard sweeps over them, can Abby and Dash set aside the pain from their pasts and work together to catch a counterfeiter and protect his son—if they survive the storm?

 

THE BLIZZARD BRIDE is published by Barbour. And even better—there is an amazing giveaway with goodies specially selected to accompany this fun new book!

 

One winner will receive:

a burgundy Pashmina wrap (color matches the book!), a $10 Starbucks card, and a chenille snowflake ornament.  (US only). Giveaway closes 2/11/20.

Enter giveaway here!

And, if you’d like to purchase this fun book, you can find it at Amazon.

Happy reading, and best wishes! –Wren

 

DISCLOSURE: I received a free copy of this book from Just Reads Publicity Tours.

 

Love Is In The Air Beauty Giveaway & Blog Hop! (ends 2/14/20)

Happy February!

Today, I’m joining with The Review Wire and Chatty Patty’s Place, along with a ton of other neat bloggers, to present the Love Is In The Air Blog Hop!

 

 

 

The FINCHNWREN blog is giving away two fun beauty items:

• A tri-color (navy, light blue, white) faux leather zippered makeup bag from Nordstrom
• Clinique’s Chubby in the Nude Foundation Stick (in 06 Intense Ivory)

Clinique is one of my two most favorite beauty lines. Their Chubby Sticks (I’ve used the lip, cheek, and eye versions) apply easily, are long-wearing, and easy to remove at the end of the day. This foundation stick would be great to use either for foundation or concealer, and its size makes it something you could easily pop into your purse in case you want a touch-up during the day.

The makeup bag is sturdy yet supple, with a tabbed zipper pull. It zips and unzips smoothly and easily. It’s sort of a parallelogram in shape, with measurements of 7 1/2″ (bottom) x 6″, with the top width of about 6 1/2″. It’s almost 3″ wide at the base and will hold a lot of your favorite makeup items. In addition, the bag is well-constructed and its seams are solid and beautiful.

 

How to enter:

Simply click on the “Enter here!” link below. That will take you to a Giveaway Tools entry form, where you’ll be able to enter in a variety of ways. The giveaway closes on 2/14/19, and one winner will be selected from all the entrants to win both the bag and the foundation stick. Best wishes!

Enter here!

 

And for more giveaway fun….

check out the Love Is In The Air Giveaway Blog Hop!

 

To enter, simply click on the inLinkz link below. That will take you to the Giveaway Hop page, where you’ll be able to enter a variety of giveaways from some of my favorite bloggers!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c8cd94ed6d171cb9d89d

Best wishes–I hope you win something! Don’t forget to enter by 2/14/20 before the Giveaway Hop closes.

 

Enjoy!  –Wren

Word of the Year 2020 from FINCHNWREN

Happy 2020!

I’m a little late on the Word of the Year game this year. I’ve been ruminating over the word I’d like to focus on for awhile. I’d like to do a lot of things with this year. But the words I thought of didn’t quite circle around everything I hoped and wished for this year.

Then, this week, it came to me.

 

 

This year, I’d love to create beauty in our family life. In our family and our relationships; in our home; in our homeschool; and for me, personally.

Have you ever had seasons which ground you down? Where things were hard and applying pressure? We’ve had that in recent years. And not that there haven’t been great and amazing things during these years. We’ve had victory over cancer; our son has completed homeschool through his junior year and the first half of his senior year and graduation and college are on the horizon. But there have still been battles during those times.

My desire is to make a beautiful life for us all, in Jackson’s last semester of homeschool and as he heads off to college and my sweet hubs and I become empty nesters. (I cannot believe that I can see that phrase in conjunction with us!!)

Here’s where I’d like to see beauty:

• In our home. We have got 12+ years’ worth of homeschool materials to shuffle out the door. Jackson and I have a plan that will give him some entrepreneurial experience…and, Lord willing, create some space in our bookshelves and crates!
• In our family relationships. I’m very conscious that this is our last 5 months of homeschooling. We have materials to complete, of course, but this is the conclusion of all these years together learning and working on academics. I would love for these months to be, additionally, a sweet time relationally.
• In myself. I’ve learned, in the past year especially, that I love creating. Crafts and handwork bring me great personal enjoyment and peace of mind…even as something beautiful is being created! This year, I’m looking forward to:
  • Kumihimo bracelets
  • Knitting
  • Art class with my son (we’re both creating during this time, with charcoal pencils, watercolor, collage materials, and more)
  • Bible journaling (I have a new journaling Bible that allows me not only to read the Word but also to create in this special Bible!)

 

I’m sure that there will be other ways I’ll be able to experience beauty and work to create beautiful things, whether they’ll  be tangible or intangible. For now, I’m joyfully and lovingly looking forward to these.

 

Have you selected a word to focus on in this new year and new decade?

 

Enjoy! –Wren

Tarte Shape Tape Giveaway! Part of the Welcome 2020 Blog Hop (ends 1/16/20)

Hello 2020! I’m excited to say hello to a new year and a new decade. I’m joining with The Review Wire and Chatty Patty’s Place for the first giveaway (and blog hop) of the year, the Welcome 2020 Blog Hop!

 

 

What is your favorite makeup brand? Have you ever tried Tarte? They are one of my best-loved brands. They wear beautifully, have no parabens, and are just plain fun. Today, I have two Tarte goodies to give away to one winner!

One entrant will win:

• Tarte Shape Tape Hydrating Foundation in Light Sand color (valued at $39)
• Tarte Brighter Days mini highlighting moisturizer

 

How to enter:

Just click on the “Enter here!” link below. That will take you to a Giveaway Tools entry form, where you’ll be able to enter in a variety of ways. Giveaway closes 1/16/20. Best wishes!

Enter here!

And don’t forget to click below to check out all the Welcome 2020 Blog Hop Giveaway bloggers, who have tons of fun things you can enter to win!

 

 

To visit the blog hop, click on the inLinkz button below. That will take you to the blog hop page!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

https://fresh.inlinkz.com/js/widget/load.js?id=c8cd94ed6d171cb9d89d
Best wishes, and happy 2020!

Enjoy! –Wren

The Last Day of 2019 (and an update)

Hello!

I don’t think I have ever had a semester that flew by as quickly as our fall homeschool semester has. It has been amazing, full, fun, growth-filled…and full of several unexpected events! Here’s a bullet list of our past few months (in no particular order).

 

 

• I knitted 3 baby blankets (SO fun!). After learning to knit in fall of 2018, I’ve found it both enjoyable and relaxing; just a lovely hobby. I’m still very much a beginner knitter (don’t ask me how much unraveling I do) but I find it such a pleasure to make something with my hands that is (potentially!) beautiful when I finish. I still haven’t finished my lap blanket from last fall but I am down to the last two squares (of 12). Each of them is a different pattern and I saved the hardest ones for last. I finally got the hang of one of them, called Honeycomb or Trinity, just in time to have to stop the pattern because…

 

 

• I fractured my sternum! Yes. I find it unbelievable as well. The sternum is apparently a very hard bone to break and it’s rare to break it unless it takes a direct hit. This made it hard to diagnose, because I basically took a step on a snowy hill, then started to slide, and then fell hard at the bottom. (At which point I couldn’t breathe, could barely talk…and, grossly enough, heard a “crunch”) This kind of fall doesn’t usually cause a sternum fracture, so first the doc (at the urgent care because naturally this was the weekend) diagnosed costochondritis. Never even heard that word in my life. It means “inflammation or injury to the cartilage connecting the rib to the sternum.” That was actually correct, but over the first week the pain became excruciating. So back to the doc, who ordered an x-ray…which showed a fracture. And like a rib fracture, there isn’t a lot that can be done besides rest, meds, and not lifting or moving (or breathing deeply) without a lot of care and planning. Hubs and Jackson have been invaluable, cleaning, carrying, driving, and cooking. It is much improved (it’s been 5+ weeks). Just don’t ask me to carry any anvils.
• This was just after Jackson got a concussion while sledding with a friend. He has healed well (though it took longer than we’d expected). He’s progressed to exercise and PT. We’ve been so thankful!
• We’ve finished the fall semester of Jackson’s senior year. That has included Shakespeare, fencing, the American novel, essay writing, U.S. government, physics and pre-calculus (taught by Dad), film analysis, art, health & nutrition, and Spanish 2. I cannot believe how quickly that time sped by. We’ll be working on the same subjects in the spring semester, plus economics.

 

• Christmas was lovely. Never have I been more grateful for internet shopping! Most of my gifts were purchased either before Thanksgiving or via mail order. Oh, and gift bags! Even I was able to manage tissue paper and gift bags! Instead of doing a big meal, we got a nuggets tray and a big salad from Chick-fil-a, plus a couple of pies. My mom came over and it was just a peaceful and wonderful day.
• And as I’ve mentioned before, as of October 2019, I have had 2 years of being cancer-free! For the last two years I’ve had to have my blood drawn every three months. The CA-125 marker has been consistently low, and I reached the two-year mark this fall. I had an especially poignant moment in the elevator on the way to the oncologist’s office. A woman got on the elevator with a lovely wig on, and we started chatting. She was on the way to her final chemotherapy infusion. She asked me if this was my own hair (I’ve grown it out past my shoulders) and I told her yes, that I was at the 2-year mark! It was a nice mini-celebration for me and, I hope, an encouragement for her. She looked great and I wish her the best.

As we head down to a brand new year and a new decade (!), I just want to thank each and every one of you for visiting and reading the FINCHNWREN blog. I love writing and hosting giveaways, and it’s so fun to interact with you all. Internet hugs to you all, and here’s to an amazing 2020!

 

Enjoy! –Wren

Merry Christmas 2019 from FINCHNWREN! A Giveaway for You (ends 1/8/19)

Merry Christmas to all of you, from FINCHNWREN!

I hope you’ve all had a lovely and wonderful Christmas. And, I wanted to thank you for checking in and reading the FINCHNWREN blog! So, I have a giveaway, from me to (one of!) you!

 

 

Here are some goodies from some of my favorite stores for one giveaway winner (although, I wish I had a set for each and every one of you!!):

• Bath & Body Works Shea Butter & Vitamin E Body Lotion in Hot Cocoa & Cream scent
• Bath & Body Works Scented Candle (made with essential oils) in Marshmallow Fireside scent
• Altar’d State potpourri bag in Merry Christmas scent

To enter, just click on the “Enter here!” link below. That will take you to a Giveaway Tools entry form where you’ll be able to enter in a variety of ways. Giveaway closes on January 8, 2020.

Enter here!

 

Thanks again for following, for reading, for checking out my blog posts, and entering my giveaways. I appreciate you! And best wishes!

 

Enjoy! –Wren