Sixty Swagbucks for the taking!

Today is Swagbucks' second birthday and the company plans to celebrate in style over the coming days.


Perhaps the biggest change is in denominations. Before, you would generally get 1 or 2 SBs. Sometimes, there would be a 3, 5, 10 or even more. But it was rare.


Starting today, though, Swagbucks will be in 10s, 20s and several other denominations. It also seems we're being promised more wins. (See today's Swagbucks blog for a more thorough explanation.) That means your account will grow faster! (If you already have an account, your current total will be increased by a factor of 10. So 100 SBs becomes 1,000.)


This means that anyone starting an account today can start with SIXTY Swagbucks!


From 6 a.m. PST, February 25th til 6 a.m. March 4th, you can enter "ABBYSCODE" and start your account off on the right foot.


For those of you already registered, don't worry -- there's still new SB-earning opportunities for you:

• There will be a ton of codes given away today. Check the blog, Facebook and Twitter throughout the day!

• Download the new Swagbucks toolbar (3.0) and enjoy the new features. There will be new ways to win with the toolbar -- but you have to be logged in.
  

• Be sure to check out the revamped homepage. It is supposed to be an easier interface.
  

• Swagstakes galore! Okay, that's not Swagbucks, per se. But it's free stuff -- which is pretty much the whole point of Swagbucks! Check out the new Swagstakes portal. It will offer more contests and even feature some limited-entry formatted contests. That will help insure each entrant's odds of winning.
  

Normally, I'd say save up your Swagbucks for Amazon gift cards, but there are a LOT of great prizes being offered. So I say go and grab up as many codes as you can. Then use them to enter to win $100 Amazon Gift Cards, Sony Bravia 32" TV, Amazon Kindle, Apple iPod Touch, Flip Ultra HD Camera, Panasonic Blu Ray with Remote, Apple iPad, Sopranos Complete Series Box Set, Rachel Ray 10 piece cookware set, Playstation 3 system + games bundle, Canon Powershot Camera, Seinfeld Complete Series DVD box Set, Viziio 22" LCD TV, and lots, lots more.


So what are you waiting for? Download the toolbar, start searching and get entered in some contests!


Happy Swaggin'!

Well that's $50 down the drain...

Chalk up another expense to exhaustion...


We had to board my cat for two days, to let the pest control chemicals evaporate for a bit. (I seem to be the only one amused by instructions begging you to keep your pet away for two days, but you can come on back after three hours. I swear PETA writes these things.)


When it was time to pick her up, I was so addled with exhaustion, I couldn't remember where her carrier was. So I just drove slowly/carefully for the mile and a half back to the apartment. And was rewarded with a big ole crap in the backseat.


I removed the actual offenders, but was too fatigued to actually organize a cleaning effort. My malaise continued until Sunday night, at which point I had to clean it up because I was picking Tim up the next day. So I opened up the back door, doused it in cleaning stuff and left it, as the instructions demanded.


The problem? I'm about 99 percent sure I didn't lock the door.


First thing we noticed was the remote was gone. It was a $25 deposit. But we thought perhaps I had just brought it in the apartment with me by accident. Then we went to get the office chair out of the trunk. The one that had been there for, like, a week and we just hadn't remembered to bring in. Except now, it wasn't there anymore.


I think someone noticed the door was unlocked and that the back seat pulls down. That exposed the office chair (still in box) and they helped themselves. It explains why no one took the small bag of miscellaneous office supplies up front: Accessing the trunk from the back seat, the bag wouldn't have been visible.


I'm pissed, too, because we waited for a good mesh chair to go on sale. (In case Tim needs to do phone work from home, the mesh will keep air circulating and prevent his skin from breaking out unduly.) I guess it's back to watching Staples sales.


Meanwhile, two $25 items are gone. Irretrievable. All because I just don't have the stamina of a normal person.


Don't get me wrong, my fatigue costs us in tons of ways that I've accepted and dealt with. I don't hit as many sales as I would like, because I have to apportion my energy to be sure other things get done. I sometimes pay a little bit in library fees because I'm too tired to get a book back on the due date. Little stuff.


But this one is new -- and pricey, at that. Especially considering that I'm normally a door-locking zealot.


I'm off to go stare at the empty spot in the office where a chair should be.