Avon Beauty Giveaway!

A couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of participating on a call with Suze Orman who graciously spoke to a group of us mom bloggers about making smart financial choices in this unstable economy. Well not only did we come away with golden nuggets of advice about how to take care of our families' botton lines, but Avon who hosted the call also gave us fabulous gift bags chock full of beauty items so that mom can take care of herself too. One lucky MamaLaw reader will win her very own Avon gift bag - all you have to do is leave us a comment telling us one creative strategy you have taken to protect your family's financial well-being in these turbulent times. We'll pick a winner on Friday, May 15 at midnight.

Each gift bag includes Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan: “Keeping Your Money Safe and Sound” as well as more than $100 worth of Avon products including:

· Solutions AM/PM Total Radiance - Refreshing Day Cleanser/Makeup
· Removing Night Cleanser
· Solutions AM/PM Total Radiance - Day Cream SPF 15/Night Cream
· Big Color Glossy Lip Pencil in Glossy Sand
· Spectra Lash Mascara in Black
· True Color Eye shadow Quad in Purple Haze
· Ultra Color Rich Extra Plump Lipstick in Wine Rose
· Pro-to-Go Lipstick in Cherry Glisten
· Spotlight Eau de Toilette Spray
· Ironman Eau de Toilette Spray

Interested in becoming your own boss? Visit Avon's site for details on becoming an Avon Independent Sales Consultant.

Don't forget to tweet or post about this giveaway (and let us know in the comments) for extra entries!

What Would You Do With A Year and $80,000?

Clearly not everyone is struggling in this crappy economy. I read an article this morning describing how some large law firms are paying would-be hires up to $80,000 for the next year to keep them happy and on standby to start work with the firms once the market picks up and the firms can afford to pay them the full-time law firm associate salary. Confused? Here's how it usually works: many law students interview with big firms during the fall of their second year for a summer internship during the summer before their third year. Based on the student's performance during that summer, most law firms will make the student an offer for employment to begin after the student graduates from law school and takes the Bar exam the following year. So, for the most part, law students go into their final year of law school with a guaranteed job and (large) salary for after they graduate. A pretty sweet deal. And one I was fortunate enough to take advantage of myself.

Well, with Wall Street in the dumps and with law firms laying off associates left and right, apparently some firms can't afford to hire this new talent, but can't afford to lose them either. So the compromise is to pay them tens of thousands of dollars to putz around for a year until the firms get their finances in order. I wonder what I would have done if given this opportunity. I might have traveled. I definitely would have gotten myself an unpaid but priceless internship at a New York City magazine. I probably would have volunteered with various organizations. The possibilites are endless.

I wish someone would come along and offer me $80k now to stay home for the next year. Now that would be a sweet deal.

This Sucks

"Unfortunately, the state of Florida will not be offering its usual sales tax free week during 2008. In the past, the sales tax holiday was voted upon in the state legislature, but the measure was not brought up for a vote this year. Should the state of Florida decide to offer a sales tax free week again in 2009, this site will be updated to include those dates."

I look forward to tax free week every year. My single friends enjoy the annual sale at Nordstrom's or things like that, but me, I look forward to the usual week in early August/late July where I can buy all the school uniforms, clothes, and school/office supplies tax free. The savings add up. I haven't heard anything about this year so after Googling it this morning this is what I find. Outrageous! First, I'm forced to decide between buying gas for my car or feeding my family and now this!! What do they mean, "the measure was not brought up for a vote this year"?? At least put it up for a vote and vote no. But to not even put it on the table is insulting. We need our tax breaks!! We need lower gas prices!! I don't want to worry about my 12 MPG vehicle when I'm picking kids up from school and I want to be able to buy fresh fruit and milk for my family without having to pay ridiculous prices for it! I can't wait until November because I am ready for a new administration. Change is coming people.

Okay, back to cleaning the kids rooms before they come back from their trip at the grandparents'. I'll have to update you guys on our summer trip later this week.