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The best chocolate is…free. (Well not really, but if it’s free I’ll eat it and pretend it’s the best.)
Hurry, there’s still time to get yours. Well, you won’t actually get it for a while. But you can register. And then wait. And then shop with the free chocolate coupon.
Mars is giving away a 1/2 million coupons for regular size goodies each Friday through September on a first come basis.
Don’t say I never gave you anything.
I love sharing great finds. Here are a couple of free things I find great. Don’t you love when I share?
I spend a lot of time online. I don’t spend a lot of time reading magazines. Hence the pile of magazines I haven’t gotten through since January. (No, I can’t cancel the subscription. I really want to get through them I just haven’t had made the time.) And no, I’m not giving away my magazines for free. Well, I will give them away for free. But not until after I’ve read them.
Geez, give me a chance to explain.
I was reading a magazine (in a waiting room, not much else to do when waiting) and came across an interesting article by Christina Tynan-Wood. She’s a software/gadget/techy geek type who wrote about great free tech gear. (She called herself a geek first, I have the utmost respect for geeks.) Here are some from her list that I plan to check out:
openoffice.org – if you’re picking up a used computer and need just the basic word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and drawing programs this could be your thing. These products are open source software, hence the free to be. Windows may be a monopoly but that doesn’t mean you can’t pass GO.
youmail.com – this is top of my list to check out. What if your voice mail recognized who was calling and even sent you an email when you had a message? Even better, what if the service could welcome a caller by name or hang up on that telemarketer you just can’t shake? I would even consider paying for this much goodness, but no, it’s free. I likey.
free.avg.com – back to that used computer that doesn’t need to do much but the basics. How about a basic, but free, antivirus tool so you can still get online without worrying about horses and worms?
picasa.google.com – this is one I can attest to – awesome. If you have pictures spread all over your hard drive this beautiful program will search them all out and organize them into an easy to view catalog. Add to that basic editing features as well as the coolest email functions around. If you take pictures you should use picasa. (I don’t know about you Mac people, I’m still in the PC dark ages.)
hulu.com – if you haven’t already heard about this you probably will. And you probably don’t have cable. Hulu is a great website operated by the networks themselves to bring TV to your computer. Movies too. And good stuff. Old stuff (WKRP in Cincinnati). New stuff (Lost, Heroes). If there’s a movie you’re on the waiting list for at the library or Netflix it might be worth searching the Hulu catalog. They even advertise on TV. I haven’t seen the ads since we don’t have a TV, but I hear it’s some of Alec Baldwin’s best work.
quicken.intuit.com – I can’t say much about this one as I happily leave the bills and budget headaches to the husband. But for those of you who could use a few Tylenol over the monthly accounts it might be worth taking it online. Quicken will track monthly spending, pending bills and will even help you create a budget so next month you might be able to skip the pills entirely.
Well, I had planned to give you some more free stuff. But I am out of free time.
We’re off to a symposium on jobs in our greener economy. Yeah, free food.
If you have favorite free goods, please feel free to share. Sharing is good.
I know I just went on a bit of a rant about Freecycle. And it’s not that I don’t like Freecycle. It’s just that I’ve been to busy distracted to do my part to get the most benefit from the program.
I’m not going to do anything about that particular issue now. Instead, I’m going to offer you some free stuff.
Sorry, this is not a giveaway.
I can’t afford fabulous (if used) prizes and as I’m sure only 3 people besides my mother read this that wouldn’t be much of a contest.
Okay, back to the free…
There are two categories for that which I’m giving freely. The first is the free I like because it’s fun and creative. These great sites offer free downloads for things I like to imagine I might make one day. A girl can dream. No, the supplies are not free, but the design and the idea are. That’s the hard part for me. Sometimes I’m creative, I just lack the design and the idea. Check these guys out:
Creature Comforts – not only are there great designs to download but links to other free stuff. It’s a two-fer. Love the mailing labels.
LollyChops – not only is Lolly a kind gal giving away her designs. She’s also a fantabulous graphic designer. I adore the chocolate cobbler packaging. (Mom, you might be seeing one of these boxed up with a gift tag this year.) And the MerivelMoon paper, and the calendar template and the… Oh, just go look.
Vintage Glam – this is primarily a wedding site but there are some really great design downloads available. Lots of labels, fonts and cards. Gotta love Freebie Fridays. Check out the Mad Libs Thank You notes. Gotta get me some.
So that’s enough nice. Now something for the general audience. Assuming you haven’t left me yet.
You haven’t left have you?
I’m a fan of acme eclectic’s blog. It’s not the kind of blog you might think I’d enjoy. But it’s eclectic. Like me. And sometimes there’s something of national interest. Okay, maybe not national…but I think you’d be interested.
A while back ae posted about great free music. Specifically free Song of the Day downloads. If you have a radio station that offers these you know how great they can be. Well, here’s what acme eclectic has to offer…
The Current 89.3 FM (Minneapolis)
Each station’s “Song of the Day” rotation includes a little flavor of the local market, as it should be. But you will find emerging artists from around the world featured on a daily basis. Each of these stations also present in-studio performances that are generally available for download and that periodically serve as material for that day’s offering.
Time, ideas, sounds…I cannot hold these things in my hands although I consider them all consumable. All of these things may be free. All of these things may have value. I hope I have shared some valuable freebies today.
Do you have anything to share?
WHAT’S BEEN SAID