My aunt Kris just emailed me this link for a free bagel and shmear at Einsteins Bros Bagel if you print the coupon and visit between now and 5/16. Looks awesome!

Today's download is "Trust in Me" from The Jungle Book. I just downloaded mine from the link in their Facebook status!

If you have not done so yet you can either become a friend on Facebook, a follower on Twitter or text Disney Music at 66937 so you can get your free downloads.

If you are in Utah (Draper is the exact area) you will want to read all about this deal posted on Freebies to Deals. Then you will want to rush out and get your freebies!!! I SO wish I was there for this one!!

Looking for a free Mother's Day photo creation? Look no further! Now through Saturday you can get 1 FREE 8x10 Photo Collage Print from Walgreens by using code GOODTHOUGHTS at checkout.  One per person. My husband and I will both be taking advantage of this to get something for our moms, and my children will be subjected to a photo shoot after school today so we can get new, updated pics for it!!  :) 

As I mentioned in my blog about the weekly series, I am a bit of a freak about saving money and getting myself a great deal. But I am also a huge fan of giving back to the community and to the individuals that shape us and the world we live in. I want this series of posts to be a place where I can post about service opportunities, or I can spotlight great examples of service.

It being Mother's Day tomorrow, I thought I would start this series by writing about a couple of ladies that have been serving my husband and myself for our whole lives, my mom and my mother-in-law. Both of these great ladies have not only served their families, but they serve in church, and in their communities. They are both excellent examples of service that I want to share with you.

Let's start with my mom, Rochelle. My mom is ALWAYS doing some sort of service, whether it be playing the piano for the high school musical, serving in church, raising 4 kids, or helping my brother collect toys for the local hospital. She never stops helping people and she never thinks of herself first. She serves others to a fault. I should mention that she comes by this honestly as her mom, my XiaXia is the same way! NEVER thinks of herself until she has helped everyone else first.

Growing up I sometimes did not realize how much mom sacrificed to do things for us. I just assumed she would always play the piano for all my auditions and she always would end up volunteering to play the piano for the shows as well. But guess what? My mom did not just play the piano for my auditions, she played for and helped prepare myself and all my friends for our auditions as well. It was common in our home to have weeks on end of practice after practice of my friends and I preparing for auditions well into the nights, and my mom would sit at the piano through all those hours and just play over and over and help us get better and better.

Thanks mom for always serving me, my friends, the community and really anyone you could! Thanks for being an example to me and my siblings!

Now, I am going to sound repetitive here, but my mother-in-law, Anne, is equally unselfish in her service to her family, her community, and her church. Whether coaching sports for her kids teams, stopping by the neighbors house just because they seemed like they might need a hand, or serving and raising 6 great kids, one of which turned out to be the great man I married! Like my mom, she never thinks of herself first, and she comes by it honestly as well. Grandma N is a great example of unselfish service and like my XiaXia, passed that on to her children.

I am Greek, and some parts of My Big Fat Greek Wedding are really true in my family, but what I learned when I married Wes was that you do not have to be Greek to live in that "big fat family" world! They are a tight knit clan on both sides, and there are a lot of them! Anne always includes all the family in everything and watches for ways to serve them. She is loving to a fault and would do anything for her family. She extends that service to her friends and neighbors as well. I have never seen someone so dedicated to serving people that try not to accept the service. She WILL take care of people's needs whether they like it or not.

Thanks Anne for raising a great man for me to marry, and for teaching us all from your constant examples of service!

I would be remiss if I did not mention my grandma (dad's dad) and Wes's grandma J (his dad's dad) here as well. They both are wonderful examples of service and have taught it to their children as well. One of my earliest memories of service was of participating in a fashion show to benefit the American Cancer Society with my grandma.

Thanks to all the moms in my life for showing me how to serve and give back. I hope to be like you all someday!

Readers, please leave any comments you would like to about how your mom's serve! I would LOVE to hear about the moms in your lives as well!

Running List of Disney's 50 Free Days of Music:

1. Phineas and Ferb "Squirrells in My Pants"
2. The Nightmare Before Christmas "What's This"
3. Hannah Montana "I Wanna Know You"
4. Mary Poppins "A Spoonful of Sugar"
5. Aladdin "One Jump Ahead"
6. What will today be?! I can't wait to find out!!

FYI, I just got an email that Culver's in Millard (I repeat-ONLY at the Millard location) is giving FREE 1 scoop Sundaes to moms on Mothers Day (THIS Sunday May 9).

Today, Fontenelle is having their Free Day in May and Native Plant Sale. Included is free admission to Fontenelle Nature Center, children's activities, critter encounters, family hikes and access to 19 mile of trails. Plus there is a Native Plant Sale hosted by Nebraska Arboretum and the Fontenelle Nature Association. Please go here to read all the details!

WIth all the Mother's Day things happening, it would be easy to forget some of these great happenings, so I just wanted to post this one again as a reminder!

This Saturday and Sunday, Create in ElkHorn, NE will be holding a mother's Day Special. This is what it sayd on their Facebook Event page: "We're giving all mom's a present- a weekend to use our space to create your next masterpieces for FREE! So gather your photos, fabric, bits & pieces & come to CREATE for a great weekend of inspiration! Call today to reserve your spot!"

Please see their Facebook Page here and their event page here.

Thanks Merrilyn for letting me know about this!

I intend for this series of posts to give suggestions of good day trips you can make in and around Omaha with your family. Hopefully it will give some good ideas of things to do close to home for local readers (and for those of you visiting Omaha, it might give you some ideas of what to do while you are here).

I cannot possibly do a series of posts about daycations/staycations without starting with probably the most popular Omaha destination: The Henry Doorly Zoo. I am not really a zoo person, or an animal person at all, but even I can appreciate that this is a must see in Omaha. It is an incredible zoo-one of the best in the world as far as I am concerned. And it is huge!! You can EASILY spend all day there and still not see it all.

There are a number of outdoor exhibits, but many of the exhibits are indoor-so you can go and enjoy the zoo anytime, snow or shine! In fact in the middle of the HUGE snow storms this winter, when the kids were out of school for days and days on end of snow days, I braved the roads and we went to the zoo and had a great time in the heat of the Desert Dome and the Rainforest.

Speaking of the Desert Dome, here are just a few of the attractions you will find at our great zoo:

• Desert Dome
• Rainforest
• Aquarium
• Nursery
• Cat Complex
• Gorilla Valley
• (Opened Today!!) Madagascar exhibit!

See the complete list here.

Now lets talk a bit about cost. It can get pretty costly at the zoo here which is why I recommend making a full day of it.  There is a ton to see and I believe it is worth the cost, but only if you are going to make a "daycation" out of it.  Pack up a cooler and plan to picnic there. There are plenty of places to stop and eat. 

If you are a local, or plan to come to the zoo with your family more than one day in a year, I would HIGHLY recommend getting a year pass. They always go from May through April, so buy yours in May so you get the WHOLE year in. Usually some time in April the zoo will send members a form with which you can renew your pass at a discounted rate for the following year. After a certain date it is more. I did not renew mine yet this year and got a letter yesterday saying if I renew by May 18, I can still get the family pass for $78, after that it will be $88.

That being said, lets do some math.  Admission for adults and children 12 and older is $11.50, Seniors (over 62) are $10, Children 3-11 are $7.75, and Children 2 and under are free.  I have a family of 6: 2 adults ($11.50), 3 children ($7.75), and one FREE child. So, for us to go one day would be $46.25.   If I go to the zoo only 2 times with my family this year without a pass, that is  $92.50. So, you can see that the annual family pass for us is a no brainer. Even if we were just visiting Omaha and thought we might return to the zoo once more that year, I would get the pass. Just my advice for families like ours.  Do the math with your family and figure out if the pass is worth your while to purchase!

If you live out of Omaha, and happen to have a zoo pass to a "reciprocal zoo", you can get in for a discounted price. With your reciprocal zoo pass, children 2 and under are still FREE, Children (ages 3 - 11)  are $3.75, Adults (ages 12 and over)  are $5.75, and Seniors (ages 62 and over) $5.00.  That's a pretty good discount! The zoo also offers discounts for big groups (over 40). You can see the details for those discounts here.

The Henry Doorly Zoo is a great way to spend a day in Omaha and I highly recommend it! Plan ahead, pack up for the day, bring a cooler of food, and go enjoy this beautiful Omaha site!

**The picture above is one I took at the zoo last summer. Beautiful, right?!