The Most Interesting Scheduling Tool I've Ever Used

Whether you are planning a girls night, a family get-together, or anything in between - scheduling can be tricky. You try to figure out when everyone is available and your email gets bombarded, and then you have to write down who can come which days and times - it can be tedious.

Enter: Doodle.com

This is a fantastic little FREE tool my friend Amanda introduced me to several years ago while planning a night with my college roomates, the G's.

It is simple:

1. Go to doodle.com (you don't need to set up a login)
2. Create an event and enter all the date and/or time options you want people to choose from
3. doodle will send you a link that you can email out to everyone who is invited
4. They click the link, enter their name, check all the days/times they are available (you will be notified each time someone responds or comments)
5. It keeps a count for you at the bottom of how many people are available for each option

Here is what an event looks like:

Or you can use it for choosing a location:

Additional poll settings include...

• a confidential setting so responders can see their availability, but only the organizer can see everyone's responses
• participants can only choose ONE option
• limitations to the number of responders who can choose a specific date or options (great for limited-space trainings)
• as the moderator you can edit the poll at any time, or edit someone's response if needed
• an option for people to choose their preference not only as Yes or No, but also "If need be"

Give it a try!!

LDS Children's Sing Along app

This app is AMAZING!  My kids love it.

It includes a selection of children's hymns from the children's songbook, and each song has the sing-along lyrics with a bouncing ball to show when to sing each word. There are beautiful background images to go with they hymns, and best yet there is a free version.

It really helps them learn the songs and they love to listen to the music. They can pause/play the music and jump to any verse in the song. They can also browse the songs by title or by image.

For my little one I sometimes use the lullabies in this app to sing him to sleep. Everyone sounds better with a little accompaniment, and I never have to make up the lyrics for the words I forgot!

After how much use we got out of this app, we decided to get the full version for $4.99. It is well worth it.

Sephora free birthday gift (no purchase needed)

If you sign up to be a Sephora Beauty Insider then you get a free birthday gift every year. There is no cost to sign up and you get pretty nice gifts.

Last year I got this eyeliner, mascara and eyeshadow set:

And the year before I got these lip glosses:

The gift for 2012 is going to be this:

If you order online within 14 days weeks of your birthday they will send you a birthday gift. If you visit a Sephora store, there is no purchase necessary to get your gift. Just go up to the counter, show your Beauty Insider card, and they hand you your present! Enjoy!

Starbucks Pick of the week

I love this!! Every Tuesday Starbucks comes out with a new "Pick of the Week" card that includes a code for a FREE app, song, or book you can download to your iTunes account.

If you are logged into the store's wireless network, you can go to their homepage and download the app, or you can pick up a card that gives you a code to redeem the free app at home.

The cards are usually at the checkout counter or at the stirrers/napkins counter. I love to enjoy a cranberry bliss bar and my free app every Tuesday!

Here is a link to a forum where people post the most current Pick of the Week, so you don't have to venture out if you don't like this week's app ;)