The Sewing Mom

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter. All opinions are 100% mine.

I can’t believe it, but the start of school is just around the corner! My nieces go back in less than 2 weeks, and my daughter starts her freshman year in just over 3 weeks. Summer has flown by and I know I’m not ready for her to go back. She’ll be excited to see her friends at school, but I do hope the schools are ready!

Do you realize just how difficult it is for school districts to keep up with technology? Many schools don’t have enough computers for all of the kids to use and technology is so important to our children’s educations. Imagine not having access to computers to do your research for school projects. Seriously, think about how much we depend on computers for our daily activities and then think about what it would be like to not have one. I want my daughter to have the best at home and at school and that’s why I’m nominating her school in Charter’s laptop-a-day giveaway, part of Charter’s Back To School campaign in which they are giving 50 laptops to two deserving schools. Schools have to be nominated by August 12. Charter will choose 50 finalists (based on the nomination stories submitted) and announce them on Aug. 16. Public voting occurs between Aug. 16 and Sept. 20 and Charter will announce the two winning schools on Sept. 27th.

I also registered myself for a chance to win a laptop too, while nominating my daughter’s school. The laptops are Lenovo G555’s with a 15.6″ screen, 160GB drive and 3GB ram (with a Targus bag). Ordering any Charter service will get you an automatic entry and a chance to get $300 cash back. Be sure to visit Charter on Facebook and “Like” them for their back-to-school efforts!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Charter. All opinions are 100% mine.

This past weekend we were supposed to be out watching softball all weekend, but Mother Nature decided to continue with her downpour of rain on north Texas, so, we spent the entire weekend at home. Yes, I did manage to get a little laundry and cleaning done at home, but hey, it’s the weekend! I want entertainment!

A rained out weekend is perfect for laying around with family, watching T.V. It’s no fun though if there isn’t anything be televised that we want to watch. That’s what makes “On Demand” by Charter so great. It not only allows us to watch the movies of our choice, at the time we want to watch, but we can also watch many of our favorite television shows On Demand as well. There are literally thousands of shows to choose from and most of the major networks are participating in On Demand by having their shows available to view starting the day after they originally air. Visit the On Demand home page to find out more. My favorite movie of late would have to be Alice in Wonderland, and yes, it’s available ON DEMAND! I just enjoy the fact the I can watch pretty much whatever I want to watch, when I want to watch it!

By the way, You will ‘Like’ their Facebook page as well.  How about you, do you watch t.v. as it’s airing or later?

Just like most everyone else, our household has had to do some belt tightening as a result of the current economy. I’ve been working more hours and spending less and we’ve put a number of household projects on hold. I find myself constantly looking toward the future which, I have to admit, does appear to be a bit brighter for our financial future. By the end of this year we will have paid off several items, including my daughter’s orthodontist and her musical instrument. The next major event happens in April, the lease on our car expires.

Truthfully, I love our car, but, I’m not sure what I want to do when the lease expires. We could buy the car and it would be ours to do with what we please. I’ve actually been thinking though how nice it would be to not have a car payment of any kind. Our van is paid for, so we just have this car payment. I work from home and the only time the car gets driven is to take my daughter to school on the mornings she doesn’t ride the bus. I do run a few errands with the car, but I’ve found myself wondering if we couldn’t manage, at least for a while, with only one vehicle. My husband works just 10 minutes from the house, so, yes, there would be some inconveniences, but, I think we could make it work.

Of course, while I’m trying to convince myself that being a one car family could work, Charter has decided to host a Camaro Sweepstakes and the prize is the beautiful 2010 Camaro 2SS. This would be fantastic to win! Not only would we have a brand new car, it would be paid for!

Charter believes in high speed and fast service and the 2010 Camaro 2SS delivers both, just as Charter High Speed internet does. There is no purchase necessary to enter the sweepstakes, but if you do order a Charter service online, you’re automatically entered. A random drawing will be held on or about Dec. 10, 2009 and one lucky winner will receive a beautiful new 2010 Camaro 2SS. Maybe this is my lucky day!

You can also follow Charter on Facebook and Charter on Twitter. In addition, there are gift cards from major retailers that are being given away for signing up online for a Charter service. This sweepstakes is open to those living in the continental U.S.  I think this car would be FABULOUS in my garage!

Have you ever wanted to change the company you use for your television or internet services with? I’ve considered myself many times. Do you know how hard it is to compare packages and check “bundles” to see if they meet your needs?

Well, Charter Communications has designed a user friendly website that allows customers to build a bundle of services that meets their individual needs. WOW! What a novel idea, a company that actually allows customers to save money while allowing them to get the services they need! To make Charter even more enticing, Charter is holding a sweepstakes for not just new customers, but current customers as well. Any one who orders and completes installation of cable, high speed or telephone online at Charter.com throughout the month of April is automatically entered to win a 22” flat screen HDTV and there is a winner every day. In addition to the daily prize, there is also a Grand Prize Package that includes a 52” LCD flat screen HDTV, a Home Theater System, and one year of free Charter Digital Cable® service with HD programming.

I have to tell you, I am looking at all sorts of way to save money in our house hold budget and television and internet service is one way I do believe we can save and still have good quality service. Winning a prize in the sweepstakes would be icing on the cake!

The Olympics are almost over and then it’s time for football season! This is truly my husband’s favorite time of year. He’s been attempting to watch NFL preseason football games on television, but it’s difficult when we’re all wanting to watch the Olympics at the same time. Of course, I’m always on the computer while watching t.v., multi-tasking is what I call it. This would definitely not be a time when we would want to be without our television or internet service!

Do you have a good high speed cable or satellite service? If not, or if you’re thinking of changing providers, this is a great time to check out Charter Communications and their Back To School Deal. Order any Charter service online now and be entered automatically in the Charter Laptop-a-Day Giveaway. That’s right, Charter is giving away 30 HP Compaq Presario C770US Laptops, each one valued at over $600. Here are the computer specs:

New HP Compaq Presario C770US Notebook
Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor
15.4″ WXGA Screen
2GB RAM -160GB hard drive
DVD Burner
Built in Wi-Fi and Ethernet
Plus a NEOtec Laptop Backpack!

Not only that, if you sign up online for one of Charter’s services, you will receive a $100 prepaid Shell gas card. With gas prices the way they are, who couldn’t use that?!

Check out the complete Sweepstakes Rules.