Lock Up Your Gadgets Safely With Master Lock

With Back To School right on top of us Parents are not just concerned with buying supplies, but also how to keep their children's valuable gadgets safe as well. Every 53 second a laptop is stolen, that fact alone is astonishing to me. Schools now a days almost require that students have some sort of laptop or notebook, but as a parent how do you keep those items safe after spending your hard earned money on them? How do you, as a parent, keep your children's items locked up for a safe school year?

GUND's Top Dog Photo Contest - VOTE FOR ZERO ends 8/15

GUND is holding a Top Dog Photo Contest and I've entered Zero into it! She is in the category of "Faces Only A Mother Could Love" of course the picture I used was of her apologetic sad face after being caught with her head in the garbage can. I'm calling upon all of my followers and fellow sweepers to please vote for Zero! Voting runs from 8/6 until 8/15.

PRIZES: 
One (1) winner in each category will receive a sample of GUND products of their choice with a retail value of $250. 
The Grand Prize Winner will have a GUND® plush dog modeled after the winning photo, to be sold at retail sale. The Grand Prize Winner will not receive any royalties and/or proceeds from any sales. The Grand Prize Winner will also receive twenty–four (24) samples of their plush dog.
No cash or other substitution may be made, except by the Sponsor, who reserves the right to substitute a prize with another prize of equal or greater value if the prize is not available for any reason as determined by the Sponsor in its sole discretion. Each Category Winner and The Grand Prize Winner is responsible for any taxes and fees associated with receipt or use of a prize. Prizes are not transferable.

Vote at I'm Sorry I Was In The Garbage Can

This is the picture you are looking for

Using Google Alerts

I keep saying I was going to do a post on how to set up a "Google Alert", well guess what here it is! For those of you who want to search for sweeps or text to win contests setting up a Google Alert is the easiest way to do so. This is what the screen will look like. As you can see I have mine set up to go to my blog's email address

1. Go to Google Alerts 
2. Type in what you'd like to be alerted to in Search Query
3. Drop menu two for where you'd like to search
4. Select how often you'd like to be notified - as it happens, daily, or weekly
5. Select how many alerts you want - only the best or all
6. Deliver to - your email or RSS feed in Google Reader

My tips and tricks are to put the search query in quotes, otherwise you will get every single alert with a single word in it. I have alerts set up for "twitter parties", "text to win" and my name. Why my name you ask, because some companies do not "tag" you on Facebook sweep wins and give you a specific time frame to email them with your information. I've had this happen twice and lost out on one very big win because the company didn't know how to send a Facebook message and didn't tag me in their announcement, yes it made me upset.. but that's why I have an alert set up for my own name. I also use Everything setting along with Once A Day setting and get the summary in my email on a daily basis. Google Alerts are easy to use and make finding sweepstakes and Text to Win contests a cinch!! If you have any questions just leave me a comment and I'll try to answer them all!

BlogHerAtHome Giveaway #3 Swag Bags & Pass to BlogHer'13

If you've been following @BlogHerAtHome during the BlogHer'12 conference you were able to connect with fellow bloggers who also weren't in attendance at the conference this year! This was a great opportunity for those of us who were home instead of in NYC. But there was more... BlogHerAtHome also offered giveaways too! Now for Giveaway #3 - You can enter to win a swag bag from the conference and also a pass to BlogHer'13 which will be held in Chicago next year! What an exciting opportunity! You can enter here Entries end on Monday and you can not enter if you attended the conference this year. Good Luck to everyone and here is to seeing and finally meeting some of you in Chicago next year!

Disclosure:I am receiving a sweepstakes entry into exchange for this blog post. All opinions are 100% my own.

Visit San Antonio And SAVE On Your Next Vacation

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

I've always wanted to visit San Antonio to not only see all that the city has to offer, but to also explore my family history. My Mother's side of the family is from Texas including a Great Grandfather five generations back being one of the founding Father's of the Replublic of Texas. Yes, I even have family that at one point in history guarded the Alamo. I could never make the dollars work when it came to wanting to go down there for a vacation and see all the area has to offer, until recently.  SAVE – San Antonio Vacation Experienceis a program where you can get exclusive deals and discounts to make any vacation experience in San Antonio a budget friendly one. 

SAVE has teamed up with top hotels, resorts, and attractions in the San Antonio area to offer visitors the best experience they could enjoy, while also keeping their vacation within their budget. SAVE also has Limited Time Offers of hotel packages at some of the most prominent and top resorts in the San Antonio area. You can visit and stay in style while keeping money in your wallet that can be spent on attractions the area has.

Some of the top attractions in the San Antonio area include Sea World, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio Botanical Gardens, and the ever famous the Alamo! After reading through the SAVE site there were certain attractions and resorts that caught my eye and I began to plan an itinerary of what I'd most like to do while vacationing in San Antonio. 

My itinerary would include:

• Alamo Helicopter Tour - 10% off through SAVE
• Alamo Sightseeing Tours - $2 off for Kids
• Ripley's Haunted Adventure/Guiness World Record Museum - $1 off with printable coupon
• Market Square - discounts on purchases
• Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch - $2 off with printable coupon
• Institute of Texan Cultures - BOGO

Of course I wouldn't just be down there for vacationing, but as I said to explore my family's history and it's involvement in the Alamo, so my stay wouldn't be complete without a hotel deal at Comfort Suites Alamo/Riverwalk. Using the SAVE Program I can visit all these wonderful and beautiful attractions, enjoy the city and all it has to offer, and explore my family history all while staying within my budget.

You can also follow SAVE on Twitter at @SAVEinSA to learn of more discounts and deals on your San Antonio Experience. If you have a smart phone you can also download the SAVE app and keep up with the newest and hottest discounts and deals right from your phone!