Our Trip to IHOP for National Pancake Day Free Short Stack March 8, 2016 #IHOP #NationalPancakeDay

*Posts have a mind of their own sometimes. This is a post from an old blog called Frugalicious Family Fun from 2016 that migrated all by itself over here where you might see it and love it and be helped by it to be inspired to take your family out for free food! For information about the 2019 IHOP National Pancake Day on March 12, please click on the words!

Here's a post about last summer's IHOP 57-cent pancake day, which was a blast. We don't eat out much so when we do we like it to be CHEAP!

Now it's time for National Pancake Day and short stacks are FREE. This is where homeschooling comes in ... we can go pretty much anytime to check out the crowd situation. How busy could it possibly be at 2 p.m.? We shall see.

UPDATE: we went at 11 after calling to see how busy it was. We raced over and were seated immediately. Then a zillion people came in after us. They were on top of things and our waiter was amazing! We gave a donation to Children's Miracle Network and I also tipped the waiter very well because what a day to be a server! I remember those days well :-) Besides, I sold an article today so I could splurge a little on making someone else happy and on buying bacon for the kids and coffee for me! GREAT EXPERIENCE!

IHOP National Pancake Day 2016

During National Pancake Day, the company's largest philanthropic event of the year, more than 1,500 IHOP restaurants across the country will invite guests to enjoy a complimentary short stack of IHOP's signature delicious buttermilk pancakes from 7 AM to 7 PM.

Guests will be encouraged to make a voluntary contribution to their local Children's Miracle Network Hospital.

100% of the donations will help local charities provide vital equipment, life-saving procedures and critical care for sick and injured children.

There is a limit of one free short stack per guest. The offer is valid at participating restaurants for dine-in only while supplies last, and is not valid with any other offer, special, coupon or discount.

Our Trip to IHOP 58-Cent Short Stack Pancakes for Their Anniversary 2016

*This post migrated itself from an old blog called Frugalicious Family Fun, originally posted March 8, 2016. For information on the 2019 IHOP Free Short Stack for National Pancake Day, just click the words!

Last July 7, 2015 was IHOP’s (International House of Pancakes) 57th anniversary of being in business, and to celebrate they gave customers a short stack (3 pancakes) for only 57 cents.

This was my friend’s bill for his 4 kids.

Mine was higher because I got some bacon for the all the kids to share and some eggs for myself. I ate one of my pancakes then got the rest to go for my husband to have later.

All the kids had water to save money. We had quite the crew of 12 and might I suggest that if you are able, do not go at night for dinner! The place is INSANELY packed then. Go in the afternoon if you are able; our location was not busy at all!

My family LOVES deals like this. Also every year IHOP does a FREE short stack per person for National Pancake Day. 

Finding Inspiration for Your Blog When You're in a Rut

Writing inspiration for your blog when you have run out of ideas; blogger writer's block!

Blogging is the chance to put your thoughts, your expertise, and your name out into the world. Blogs can become huge. They can become a career all onto their own. They can be used to draw in organic traffic to your online store, so that you can take your business to the next level. They can be used to draw in brands who want to work with you. They can do so much, but you need to be committed to it.

One of the ways that you need to be dedicated is to continue to create valuable, great content. You need to publish this content consistently, otherwise no matter the format, your blog will suffer. To help you stay inspired, and to help you keep generating new ideas for content, follow these tips:

Make a List of What You Have Done

Hitting that writer’s block can be a tough thing, especially if you started off so strong. That’s okay though. To get you out of this rut start by writing down all the blog posts that you have already written. Doing this alone might spark a few ideas about what is missing from your post collection. If not, that’s okay. This is useful to ensure that you don’t make repeat posts by mistake.

Read Blogs

There are no new ideas, only new takes on them. That’s why it’s absolutely okay to go through other blogs and see what their posts are about. You should never plagiarize, of course, but you can take inspiration. For instance, if there seems to be a challenge circulating around bloggers in your niche, you have a post to write!

Discuss Ideas with Friends, Family, or Co-Workers

Another way to come up with new content ideas is, of course, to talk about them. Get your friends, family, and, if you work for a company or own your own, your co-workers or employees. Brainstorm; come up with new ideas together.

Try New Things

Sometimes, writer’s block isn’t because you don’t have post ideas, but because you don’t know how to go about writing them. When that happens, you need to try new things. Go out and have new experiences that let your brain kick into overdrive. If you can’t get out of the house, that’s okay. New flavors are another way to stimulate your brain, so whether you try adding a new spice or new Mt Baker Vapor e liquid flavors is a great way to get the inspiration that you need.

Start Writing

If all else fails, just write. Good ideas will come just by forcing yourself to start, even if what you initially write is promptly deleted.

Creating consistently is a challenge at first, yes. The more you do it, however, the easier you will find it to be. Continue to use these tips to keep you inspired, so you can always have a list of ideas to pull from when it comes time to write another blog post, or to draft the storyboard for a new video, and so on. 

Balancing Your Personal Life With a Successful Career

You can balance your personal life with a successful career!

You may have worked hard to get to where you are today but that doesn’t mean you haven’t had to make sacrifices along the way. In fact, there are a few true costs in particular of having a successful career.

While these realities shouldn’t stop you from wanting to thrive, they’re at least worth taking into consideration as you figure out what’s most important to you and what you want out of life. It’s best to be aware of the specific changes that might occur in your life once you do find success and are making a lot of money. What’s most important is that you’re happy and feel proud of your accomplishments.

Family Time

Having a successful career often means giving up a lot of your free time to focus on your job. This may cause you to miss important family gatherings or your children’s activities and it could put a wedge between you and your loved ones. It’s important to be aware of this truth and try your best to create more work-life balance if you want to maintain a happy home life. Another idea is to hire more help at the office so you have people who you can rely on to run the operation while you’re gone or out.

Your Finances

Another cost of having a successful career has to do with your finances. Some individuals may be at a point in their life where they are making a lot of money while working their way up the corporate ladder and may not know what to do with it all. Being aware of how to handle an increase in pay can help you to manage your funds well. You should not only invest, save and protect it, but, in terms of your personal life, you should know of reputable high net worth divorce solicitors who can help you should your marriage come to an end. You want to make sure that your hard work isn’t displaced and that you get a fair settlement should you and your partner separate.

Damaged Relationships

Unfortunately, jealousy is a major factor when it comes to you being successful in your career and others not liking it too much. This may cause damaged relationships between you and current or past co-workers, or even friends. The upside is that you’ll figure out who your true friends are and who supports you as you make your way to the top and should take note of those who are still standing by your side.

Self-Care                                                       

You may soon realize that right when your career takes off your health and well-being suffer. Having a successful job usually means there’s less time to take care of yourself and focus on your needs. However, you have to be able to balance it all out and put your wellness at the top of your priority list if you’re going to be able to continue on strong for years to come. As soon as your health starts to deteriorate you’re going to find it difficult to work and keep up with your job duties. Be mindful of this and try your best to properly care for yourself both at and outside of work.

What To Do If You're Feeling Unhappy With Your Life

Although it’s not a pleasant feeling, the reality is that you may one day find yourself feeling unhappy or unsettled with your life. Take comfort in knowing that you’re not alone and these are normal emotions to have once in a while.

It’s important that you allow yourself to feel unhappy and not try to hide it. Instead, address what you’re dealing with head-on so you can get to a better place soon. There are action steps you can take to help you experience more joy and less negativity, but it will take an extra effort on your part. Give these ideas a try and see for yourself that the power to be happy is in your hands.

Find A New Job

Working a dead-end job where you don’t feel appreciated may be causing you unhappiness. Keep in mind that while it’s safe and comforting to stay where you are, it may not be what’s best for you in the long run. If you’re miserable at your workplace, then update your resume and start interviewing so you can secure a new job where your skills are being used properly.

Pick up & Move

If you’re feeling unhappy with your life, then it may be time to pick up and move homes and neighborhoods. The best part is that you can use an online conveyancing service to help you with your new home purchase so it’ll be a quick, easy and convenient process for you. You’ll likely find that this will be a healthy fresh start for you and that all you needed was a change in scenery to help lift your spirits.

Talk to a Friend or Therapist

It’s never a wise idea to hold in your emotions for too long and pretend you’re fine when you’re not and are truly struggling. One idea is to find a friend or therapist to talk to so you can discuss what you’re going through and try to better understand why you might be unhappy. Opening up and allowing others in and to offer up advice will likely make you feel more at ease and motivated to come up with a game plan for tackling the future.

Take a Break from Social Media               

While social media is fun and entertaining, it can also make you feel bad about your own life if you’re always comparing yourself to others. It may be in your best interest to take a break from social media and unplug for a while. Spend time getting your own life in order and practicing healthy habits such as exercising and cooking for yourself in your free time instead.

take a social media break!

Discover A Hobby

You may be unhappy with your life because you’re simply bored. Discovering and committing to a new hobby will help you to feel alive again. You’ll not only meet new people but you’ll be challenging yourself outside of the workplace as well.

Practice Gratitude                                       

Finally, it’s always helpful to practice gratitude and be thankful for what you do have in life. You’ll feel happier when you realize all the blessings that already exist around you. Your mood will lift and you’ll begin to notice your situation isn’t so bad after all.

practice gratitude!