One Hundred and Ten days!

It is a little bit crazy to sit back and reflect on the last 110 days. It is 110 days since 'normal' life took a shift.

From an accomplishment perspective, I have held to my commitment to walk at least 30 minutes every day for the past 110 days. There have been a few times that I just didn't feel like it but I found a way to persevere and get the walk in. As a result, I have achieved my step goal almost every day in that same window. I had one day where my watch hadn't updated to the new goal and so the goal 'fireworks' went off but I discovered the next day that I was 4 steps short of the goal. I had one day where we were at a bonfire and I didn't realize it was midnight and wound up 100 steps short because I had been sitting most of the evening. I had one day where a tornado sent me to the basement for the last hour plus of the day and I wound up 200 steps short. I had one day where I simply fell asleep with less than 100 steps to reach the goal. The orange bars that show up when I look at my 4 week step history over the past 3-4 four week periods make me sad but I also realize that most were not a true lack of effort but just bad timing.

In addition to my daily walking, I was finally able to get back to swimming earlier this month, after 12 weeks of the pool being closed. I had been on target to complete the 100 mile swim club (for 2020) back in March, until the pool was closed down due to COVID19 orders. Even now, the pools are open but we are only allowed to swim for an hour (75 minutes in the building is the rule) at a time, which has made reaching the 100 mile mark a little harder. I did get to just over 90 miles swam as of the end of June. I should be able to reach 100 in July and hopefully make some steady progress towards reaching the special anniversary 150 mile challenge that they included as part of the 100 Mile swim club for this year. Essentially, I need to swim at least 10 miles per month to reach that goal. That is very doable and I should complete it easily before the end of the year.

It was just over 110 days ago that schools were closed for the rest of the year, and now graduations are being held in parking lots because of gathering limits. Our school was hoping to have theirs at the stadium but did not receive the approval (not sure who had to approve) to do that, so they went with the contingency plan for a parking lot ceremony. They held Prom two nights before graduation across two venues - food trucks at the high school (with in car service) and then a movie at the drive in (where they are being asked to stay in their car). I'm glad they got a night to celebrate but wonder why we couldn't find a way when wedding receptions are permitted for up to 300.

In our area, conversations have started with groups of parents, teachers and administrators meeting online to talk about what school could look like in the fall. Our school is looking at three approaches - 100% online, hybrid in school/online and back to the classroom. They are gathering info from the CDC, studies/findings that have been published, perspective from schools in other countries and counties and other sources that participants are sharing to help inform their proposal. They have done parent and student surveys. In the return to the classroom approach, it definitely feels like parents are divided on whether they will send their child back to school if it resumes in the fall (and fortunately, the schools are making plans for that contingent of students within their option of fully returning and hybrid approach). With back to the classroom option, there are those that think masks make sense but another portion that is expressing concern with the challenges with them being worn correctly, teachers/students being able to effectively communicate, safety/adverse consequences of wearing them. I have heard that one thought is require masks at arrival/departure, in the hallway, and other places where they will pass each other in close proximity but allow them to remove masks in the classroom where the desks are spaced, so as to balance ability to teach/learn. I don't ultimately know where things will land but my hope is that we will have them back in school and take sufficient precautions without being too prescriptive or doing things that will negatively impact learning. We will know more next week when they present the proposal to the school board...then I think the Board of Health has to weigh in.

What goals have you set? Were you successful in meeting them? What is the plan for school in the fall where you live?

Red Robin's Burger for Better Schools Program #Giveaway

No compensation was received for this post. The Red Robin information and gift cards (one for my family, one for the giveaway) have been provided by Red Robin. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

When I first graduated from college, I took a job with a company that had a training program that included rotations at two different production locations. It was an awesome experience and gave me the opportunity to live in two different cities and meet a lot of amazing people (including my husband). While on my second rotation, I was living in South Jersey and working in Philadelphia. It was a really fun rotation. I had a roommate that was there for a co-op assignment at the same plant and we had a blast exploring our new community. In addition to meeting new people, it also gave me a chance to catch up with some of my friends from college that had moved to the area years ahead of me. One weekend, I went and spent a couple of days with a sorority sister who lived about an hour away from my apartment. While visiting with her, we went to dinner at a restaurant that was new to me at the time - Red Robin. I remember they had a great hamburger selection and that the food was very good.

It has been several years (several, like 18 years) since I had last been to a Red Robin. For a long time, I didn't live near one and then when I moved 'close' to one, it was still a good half hour away from me and although we shopped in the area, the crowds generally kept us from stopping to eat, instead opting to head home to eat. They would come to mind when we had cravings for a good burger, but we hadn't been.

When Red Robin reached out about their new way to support local schools with their Burgers for Better Schools program, we decided we should make the journey - it helped that I had a work event near the Red Robin and the family came down and met me there for dinner.

Burgers for Better Schools is an extension of Red Robin’s loyalty rewards program, which gives members the opportunity to support local K-12 schools simply by dining at participating Red Robin restaurants and using their Red Robin Royalty member account. When a Red Robin Royalty member’s account is presented at the time of purchase, Red Robin will donate one percent of the total bill (excluding taxes, gratuities and gift card sales) to their school of choice.

Fortunately, since I was close by, I was able to time my arrival just enough in advance of the family, that I was able to wait the wait out by myself and we were seated within minutes of my family arriving. The kids each got kid's menus, which came with the tiniest crayons, they were sort of cute.

They also have tablets at the table, that allow you call the waitress, explore the menu, and play trivia. We were a little bummed that trivia came with a cost, especially since with it being on the tablet, it would be real easy for a kid to start playing without realizing. We asked why they charged for the trivia, when so many other places use the trivia as an additional draw to get crowds to come in and linger longer. The waitress wasn't sure, but agreed that it might be nice for it to be complimentary like it is elsewhere.

Then came time to explore our menus. I was very pleased by the selection and quickly narrowed it down to my top three or four options (I'm not the best decision maker when it comes to what do you want to eat...I want it all). As he explored the regular menu, son's eyes were bigger than his stomach, but fortunately, when we asked they have a plan for that...he was able to get a smaller version of his preferred burger from the adult menu. He went with the Burnin' Love.

He opted to try the cole slaw for his endless side. I have to tell you that we all thought it was really good.

My husband went with a different spicy burger - the Chili Chili Cheeseburger, with a side of fries. He was disappointed that it was not spicy and had to order some ghost pepper sauce to spice it up to what he wanted.

I was torn between the Royal Red Robin, which comes with an over easy egg on it and the Guacamole Burger. I went with the Guacamole Burger and the Garlic Herbed fries for my side. There was an extra charge for the Garlic Herbed Fries, but they are still bottomless.

My daughter chose the Little Red's Burger from the kids menu for her meal. She upgraded her drink to a Root Beer float. It was a small drink, but it was bottomless, which meant that there was enough to meet her expectations.

When you were ready for more sides, all you had to do was ask and they would bring out another basket.

Everyone was very pleased with their meal. We thought about dessert, but the food was so tasty that we all ate our meals and didn't have room for dessert. When we were ready, we were able to use the tablet on our table to pay our bill, including tip and print our receipt.

My husband liked this, he has often talked about how he would love to be able to pay at the table, so that the credit card was never out of of his control.

In addition to enjoying a great meal, we were able to help our local school out to. We had registered before going and the school we chose will get one percent of what we spent.

We are already planning our next visit.

Information about Red Robin’s Burger for Better Schools Program:

· Burgers for Better Schools is an extension of Red Robin’s loyalty rewards program. Red Robin Royalty provides members with added perks when they dine at Red Robin restaurants throughout the year, such as granting every 10th item purchased as free, a free birthday burger, exclusive surprises and more

· Burgers for Better Schools gives Red Robin Royalty members an opportunity to support local K-12 schools simply by dining at participating Red Robin restaurants and using their Red Robin Royalty member account. When a Red Robin Royalty member’s account is presented at the time of purchase, Red Robin will donate one percent of the total bill to their school of choice (excluding taxes, gratuities and gift card sales)

· Participating in Burgers for Better Schools is as easy as becoming a member of Red Robin Royalty. Red Robin Royalty members can sign up for Burgers for Better Schools on their account dashboard on Red Robin’s website or by visiting http://www.redrobin.com/betterschools. If you are not already a Red Robin Royalty member, sign up for free and select your child’s school BEFORE your visit!

· Through the Burgers for Better Schools dashboard, Red Robin Royalty members can select their school of choice to receive support, and change their school selection at any time throughout the year

· Members who have opted into Burgers for Better Schools can follow their progress in supporting a K-12 school of their choice on their Red Robin Royalty account dashboard. Details include individual contributions, how many others are supporting that school, and total donations raised by all supporters

· At any time, Red Robin Royalty members can donate an additional sum to the school of their choice by using the credit card option featured on the Burgers for Better Schools homepage

· Red Robin also makes it easy to help spread the word about the Burgers for Better Schools program at school, online and socially with a variety flyers, website banners and social media-friendly content in the online digital tool kit



Information about Red Robin:

· Red Robin Gourmet Burgers is the Gourmet Burger Authority, a place where families and adults alike can enjoy a great dining experience

· The first Red Robin restaurant opened in Seattle, Wash., in 1969, and now there are more than 500 Red Robin restaurants across the United States and Canada

· Red Robin is famous for serving more than two dozen craveable, high-quality burgers with Bottomless Steak Fries® in a fun environment welcoming to guests of all ages. In addition to its many burger offerings, Red Robin serves a wide variety of salads, soups, appetizers, entrees, desserts and signature Mad Mixology® Beverages

· Red Robin is proud to offer fresh, high quality ingredients and every meal is made-to-order. Red Robin’s commitment to food quality includes Gourmet Burgers made with fresh, never frozen, all-natural, domestic, USDA-inspected beef; hormone free poultry and locally sourced produce that is hand-selected by its suppliers and freshly prepared in-house

· To sign up for the Red Robin Royalty program and become eligible to support your local school through Burgers for Better Schools, visit http://royalty.redrobin.com

You can find and connect with Red Robin
* Red Robin website

* Red Robin Burgers for Better Schools

* Red Robin on Facebook

* Red Robin on Twitter

* Red Robin on Instagram

Giveaway

Thanks to Red Robin, I have the opportunity to give one A Busy Mom of Two Reader a $75 gift card to check out Red Robin.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through October 9th. Giveaway is open to residents of the US only. Winners will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winners will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. The Red Robin information and gift cards (one for my family, one for the giveaway) have been provided by Red Robin. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Earn Money When You Shop - Smart Phone Apps that pay you back

There are two apps that I have been using lately to earn money back on the stuff that I already buy.

Endorse is the first one. I started using Endorse last year when they were still in their early stages. It was a great way to earn money back, you simply liked a brand or store through their Facebook application and mailed in your receipts. I am happy to say that they have revamped their model and it is much easier and more flexible.

Now, when you purchase the items that are part of this week's offer, you simply use your camera's phone to scan the receipt and submit. You can use one receipt for multiple offers, but you can not use multiple receipts for the same offer.

Most of their offers are a % of your purchase up to a certain total $. As an example, just this week there is an offer for 50% back on the purchase of beer or champagne. You buy what ever amount and what ever variety you prefer and you can redeem that receipt for up to $10 back.

I tend to review the offers before I head to the store. That way, if they have a yogurt offer, as example, I can see if it is on any yogurt or is for a specific brand. I can also see what the limit is. If it makes sense, I like to make my purchase to maximize the earnings. Coupons are deducted, so sometimes to maximize the offer I have to buy a little more.

In addition to giving you cash back on the products that you buy everyday, you can also benefit a local school with every receipt that you upload to fund local school projects in partnership with DonorsChoose.org - even if you don't buy one of the offers, you can still earn points to support a local school.

You can cash out to either your PayPal account or have a check sent. When I have cashed out with PayPal, the funds arrived almost immediately.

You can sign up for Endorse here.

Have you checked out Ibotta yet?

I am newer to Ibotta, but so far I like it. There seem to be more offers, but they are more item specific. Plus, you need to answer survey questions, watch videos, read recipes, etc. to redeem the full value on the offers. Not a big deal, but a little more effort to get the offers.

Ibotta pays you up to $40 every time you shop and now works at Harris Teeter, Quality Food Centers, and Giant Eagle too; among many other retailers including Target, Walmart, Kroger, Safeway, CVS, Rite Aid and more. Each offer is a specific amount back on a specific purchase. Most of the offers seem to range from $.50 to $1.75 each.

The application is very straight forward to use. I scanned through it before heading to the store. That way, I can make sure what specific items are on my list and on the app. Sometimes, there might be an offer, that combined with a sale, makes me add something to my list, but usually, I stick to my list. Then, when you come home, use your phones camera to capture your receipt and submit.

When you sign up now, you can earn a bonus of $5 after redeeming your first offer. You can choose to have the funds sent to your PayPal account or have it benefit the school of your choice.

This post contains referral links. If you sign up, won't you please consider using these links.

Box Tops for Education

Founded in 1996, Box Tops for Education allows you to help support your school by helping them earn money that they can use for books, computers, playground equipment and more. For each Box Tops for Education that you clip (and submit) your school earns 10₵. I started clipping Box Tops for Education years ago, my daycare collects them and my son's elementary school collects them too.

As we start to get ready for the new year, one of my son's tasks is to take the collection of Box Tops for Education that we tore off of packages all summer long and clip them neatly to take into school on the first day. This past Sunday, our paper bag included a collection bag with a zipper closure for Box Tops for Education.

You may feel that earning 10₵ per product is a slow way to build towards the $20,000 a year that your school can earn, but every little bit helps and there are ways to earn more. Right now, through August 13th, upgrade your Sam's Club Membership to a "Plus Membership" and upon payment you will receive a certificate for 150 Bonus Box Tops (while supplies last, see the Member Services Desk for more information). In addition, when you shop at Sam's Club Back-to-School event, you can get a head start on your collection and find 6 Box Tops on participating General Mills products.

My family purchases a number of brands that participate in Box Tops - Cheerios (and many other General Mills Cereals), Kleenex, Cottonelle, Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks and more. For these and many other items, we find that buying in bulk at a club store, like Sam's Club, provides us with a good value compared to other stores. In addition, with the Plus Membership, you can also participate in their eValues program (offers for additional savings on products and services in Club), where savings are loaded to your card and redeemed at check out.

Giveaway
One lucky A Busy Mom of Two winner has the opportunity to win a $25 Gift Card to Sam's Club, courtesy of General Mills, Sam's Club and MyBlogSpark.

To enter - Leave a comment sharing which General Mills Box Tops items you plan to purchase during the Sam’s Club Back-To-School Event.

Additional Entries (leave a comment for each additional entry)

Name the must-have item that you’ll be purchasing from Sam’s Club this back-to-school season.

Follow A Busy Mom of Two on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. This can be once daily, please be sure to leave a link to the tweet in your comment.

Like Box Tops for Education on Facebook and share this giveaway with your friends.

Giveaway will remain open until August 19th at 6pm. Winner will be selected using Random.org random number generator. The winner will be contacted by e-mail (Please make sure that your email address is either in your comment or clearly visible on your profile or blog) and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner may be selected.

No compensation was received for this post. Sam’s Club and General Mills provided me with the upgrade to a Sam’s Club Plus Membership, a gift card for my use, information, and a giftcard for the giveaway through MyBlogSpark.