FREE Beacon Park Easter Eggstravaganza 3/31 1-5pm, Easter Egg Hunt at 2pm

First Annual Easter Eggstravaganza
Saturday, March 31 from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

A FREE afternoon of Easter activities has something for everyone, from tots to teens, including the first annual Beacon Park Easter Egg Hunt, Peeps s’mores-making station, Easter basket, egg, and flower pot decorating, and entertainment provided by a local youth choir and dance ensemble.

Food truck fare and non alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase.

NOTE: The Easter Egg Hunt will take place promptly at 2:00 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE BEACON PARK EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA 

Beacon Park is located at 1903 Grand River Ave. in Detroit.



Enjoy!


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FREE Home Depot Kids Workshop 5/6 - Build a Flower Pot for Mother's Day

Build a Flower Pot at the Home Depot

Build. Learn. Create. Have fun with fun Kids Workshops at the Home Depot designed for children ages 5 - 12. Workshops teach children do-it-yourself skills, tool safety and instill a sense of pride and accomplishment. All kids get to keep their craft and receive a FREE Kids Workshop Apron, commemorative pin and certificate of achievement.

Make a Flower Pot
Saturday, May 6, 2017
9am - Noon

Join our hands-on workshop where you and your child can build a flower pot to hold spring flowers to keep or give to Mom. Once the project is complete, your child can paint their project to personalize it.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS HOME DEPOT KIDS WORKSHOP


Enjoy!


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FREE Home Depot Kids Workshop 4/1 - Build Bunny Basket

Build a Bunny Basket at the Home Depot

Build. Learn. Create. Have fun with fun Kids Workshops at the Home Depot designed for children ages 5 - 12. Workshops teach children do-it-yourself skills, tool safety and instill a sense of pride and accomplishment. All kids get to keep their craft and receive a FREE Kids Workshop Apron, commemorative pin and certificate of achievement.

Make a Bunny Basket
Saturday, April 1, 2017
9am - Noon

Join our hands-on workshop and you and your child can build a bunny basket, perfect for keeping Easter treats a short hop away. Once the basket is built, your child can decorate it with paint and stickers.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS HOME DEPOT KIDS WORKSHOP


Enjoy!


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FREE 8x10 Photo Enlargement at Walgreens using this Secret Promotional Code - ENDS 4/4

I love these FREE Photo products from Walgreens…

To celebrate Easter, Walgreens is offering a FREE 8x10 photo enlargement when you use promotional code FREE2FRAME at check-out.  I love these FREE 8x10 enlargement offers because photos make great Easter gifts.

Remember to choose store pick-up so that the entire order will be FREE.  This offer expires on Saturday, April 4,  2015.

CLICK HERE TO GET STARTED CREATING YOUR FREE 8x10 PHOTO ENLARGEMENT OFFER AT WALGREENS


LEGAL STUFF:
Coupon code FREE2FRAME valid for one use per Walgreens.com account thru April 4, 2015. Only one coupon code per order. Limited to one free 8x10 single-image print per household. Code must be entered at time of checkout to apply discount. Photo cart must include your 8x10 print at time of checkout to qualify. Discount does not apply to collage prints, scrapbook pages, magazine covers, previous purchases, taxes or shipping charges. Order must be placed by logged-in customer by April 4, 2015 at 11:59 p.m. Central Time to qualify.hipping and handling may apply if in store pickup is not available in your area.


Enjoy!


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GIVEAWAY: Easter Entertaining is Easy with HoneyBaked - ENDS 4/13 #HoneyBakedEaster

Disclosure: HoneyBaked provided me with a complimentary gift card so I could to try out some of their menu options. All opinions are my own. #HomeBakedEaster

This Easter, HoneyBaked is doing the holiday cooking for me...

One of my earliest memories from childhood is of my Mom standing in her olive green kitchen (complete with olive green appliances) preparing the meal for the Easter holiday. My mom, my aunts, and my grandmother would prepare a portion of the meal and then bring it all together potluck style on Easter. The smells would be wonderful, the food heavenly. But the cooks would be beat from being on their feet toiling in the kitchen for hours and hours.

Fast forward to the present and few people prepare food from scratch for the holidays. We all need a little help every now and then, and this year, my help in preparing the holiday meal is coming from the wonderful cooks at HoneyBaked.

For many years, my sister has purchased her holiday Ham from HoneyBaked and it is always delicious. So this year, I decided to let HoneyBaked prepare my entire Good Friday family meal so I can spend less time in the kitchen and more time with my family.

The HoneyBaked website is fun of great information on all their products, plus coupons

My decision to let HoneyBaked take care of the entire meal stemmed from checking out the HoneyBaked website and seeing all the great items that they had to offer. I initially thought that Honeybaked only prepared Ham, but boy was I wrong. On the Honeybaked website I found not only the slow-smoked, fire-glazed Bone-in and Bone-less Ham choices, but also Roasted and Smoked Turkey, BBQ Ribs, Pork and Beef Roast, and BBQ Pulled Pork and Beef options - YUM!!!

In addition to the entree choices, HoneyBaked also sells a wide variety of side dishes and also gourmet desserts, including a Cheesecake Sampler, Carrot Cake, and New York Style Cheesecake - DOUBLE YUM!!!

Coupons and Specials Galore!
After seeing all the great choices online, I decided to print off the HoneyBaked Discount Coupons available online in preparation of checking out everything in person.

The HoneyBaked store in Dearborn Heights, MI

There is a HoneyBaked store at 23300 Ford Road in Dearborn Heights, MI right down the street from where I work. So I made a lunchtime stop and found the store full of people purchasing box lunches that start at $6.69 for a half sandwich with two sides and go up to $10.19 for a whole sandwich with 4 sides.

I will be purchasing the Easter Ham and Turkey Combo...

I needed some help figuring out what I wanted to order and I found the HoneyBaked employees to be very knowledgeable about the menu offerings. After doing some in-store taste testing (burp), I decided to pre-order the $54.99 Easter Ham and Turkey combo, which pairs 3 pounds of Turkey Breast (Roasted or Smoked) with either 3.5 pounds of Boneless Ham or a 4.5 pound Quarter Ham. I was told by the employees that this choice is enough to feed about 16 people.

I decided on the Quarter Ham option in the $54.99 Easter combo special

HoneyBaked has Sides, Sides, and more Sides to with every entree choice !!!

In addition to the HoneyBaked Ham and Turkey that I ordered, I also checked out the side options since HoneyBaked is running a limited time special of 2 heat and share sides for $13.99 or 3 for $19.99. HoneyBaked has a little bit of everything to choose from for side dishes including Green Beam Casserole, Orange Walnut Cranberries, Sweet Potato Souffle, Pototoes Au Gratin, Cinnamon Apples, Dressing, and my favorite Macaroni and Cheese.

I left the HoneyBaked store with my reservation slip in-hand and everything set for pickup on the big day. Now that is the way to do a holiday dinner that everyone will love, including the host :)

GIVEAWAY
Enter to WIN 1 of 20 $50 HoneyBaked Gift Cards to help out with your Easter meal.  This Giveaway sponsored by HoneyBaked ends on 04/13/2014 at 11:59 PM (Central Time (US & Canada)).

Use the Raffelcopter form below to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Goodluck!


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Say Hello to Spring with cookies from #GreatValue

Spring has Sprung with Great Value...

Although Spring is not officially here yet, I brought a little of the flavor of Spring to my workplace today with a few goodies made with Great Value refrigerated dough.

Last week I wrote a post about how I planned to use Great Value brand refrigerated sugar and chocolate chip cookie dough to bake up some early Easter treats. I have been shopping store brand food products for years and overall find them to have the same great taste and flavor as the national brands but at a substantial savings.

My initial plan included jumbo chocolate chip cookies (always a favorite) and some Easter bunny shaped sugar cookies.  But the best laid plans of a mom never seem to mesh with those of her kids.

When my son found out that the cookies were going to be shaped like bunnies, he was not a fan. It seems I forgot that my "baby boy" is going to be a teenager soon and he might think that bunny shaped cookies were a bit on the childish side. So after I bit of "discussion", the sugar cookies were a go - but in a more traditional shape :)

But I decided to bring in the fun factor by allowing everyone to decorate their own cookies using tube icing and sugar sprinkles in spring pastel colors - and boy did everyone enjoy putting together their cookie masterpieces!

Everyone loved my Spring decorations. They are so cute that I may have to leave these up for a while...

The minute I opened up the cookies, the aroma alone had everyone at work smiling. Nothing like good smelling cookies to make people happy...

And then came the cookie decorating. It was very amusing to see adults turn into happy little kids playing with their food...

The chocolate chips were history in no time flat, followed closely by the sugar cookies. Everyone had an awesome time and definitely could not tel that these delicious cookies were a store brand. When I got home, my son devoured his so fast that I could not even get a photo of them :)

But you don't have to spend a lot of money or even time to make some great Easter themed treats for your family and friends - not with Great Value brand refrigerated dough items are as close as your local Walmart store.

To find out other frugal ways to use Great Value refrigerated dough items for Easter, check out the following bloggers -

Amanda, Coping With Frugality, http://www.copingwithfrugality.com
Amee, Madame Deals, http://www.madamedeals.com
Angela, Frugal Living NW, http://www.frugallivingnw.com
Ashley & Julie, Frugal Coupon Living, http://www.frugalcouponliving.com
Beth, Simply Budgeted, http://www.simplybudgeted.com
Christi, Frugal Novice, http://frugalnovice.com
Jen & Sia, Thrifty NW Mom, http://www.thriftynorthwestmom.com
Jenn, Frugal Upstate, http://www.frugalupstate.com
Jennifer, The Simple Pen, http://thesimplepen.com/
Karen, Koupon Karen, http://www.kouponkaren.com
Kasandria, Southern Bella's Ways to Save, http://www.southernbellaswaystosave.com
Kim, 2 Kids and a Coupon, http://www.twokidsandacoupon.com
Leanette, Teach Me 2 Save, http://teachme2save.com
Tara, Unsophisticook, http://unsophisticook.com/


Enjoy!


Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a sponsored blogging tour by The Motherhood and Great Value. All opinions are my own.

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FREE 8x10 Collage Print at Walgreens - ENDS 3/20

Here's another FREE PHOTO print from Walgreens...

Just in time for Easter, you can get a FREE 8x10 Collage Print at Walgreens when you enter coupon code COLLAGE4FREE at checkout thru Wednesday, March 20, 2013.

Remember to choose store pickup so that your entire order will be FREE (no shipping)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON THIS FREE 8x10 COLLAGE PRINT AT WALGREENS

Enjoy!


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Baking Easter Cookies doesn't have to cost a fortune with Great Value #GreatValue

These Bunny Sugar cookies are cheap, quick & easy to make with Great Value

Great Value to the rescue for Easter themed treats at a bargain price...

I cannot believe that it is already March and it's time to start thinking about Easter celebrations. It seems the year is just passing too quickly with our busy lives.

But you don't have to spend a lot of money or even time to make some great Easter themed treats for your family and friends - not with Great Value brand refrigerated dough items are as close as your local Walmart store. 

And I already know from using Great Value brand refrigrated dough for my Valentine Day baking that they make some great tasting products.


Start your Easter themed baking with Great Value refrigrated Cookie dough

My family loves cookies - especially chocolate chip and sugar cookies. And Great Value refrigerated Chocolate Chip and Sugar Cookie dough makes baking special Easter themed cookies easy.

I have been shopping store brand food products for years and overall find them to have the same great taste and flavor as the national brands but at a substantial savings. And the Great Value brand that can be found at Walmart stores has some yummy refrigerated baking dough items that my family loves to eat.

While I was searching for some great Easter-themed recipes, I found one that I really think is super cute.

Bunny Sugar Cookies
Easter and the Bunnies just go together and so does this easy recipe for Bunny Sugar Cookies which has limited ingredients and uses no cookie cutters - I like when baking is super simple.

Ingredients -
- 1 tube of Great Value refrigerated sugar cookie dough
- Frosting in your favorite flavor
- Icing and candies for decorations

Slice two rounds of dough for each bunny.  One dough round will be for the bunny head.  Cut the 2nd dough round in two to use for the bunny ears.  Attach the two dough 1/2 rounds to the bunny's head to form the ears.  Bake as directed on the packing.

After baking, frost and decorate your bunnies.

Makes 12 Bunny Sugar Cookies.


Great tasting and a great value...

JUMBO Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

Themed cookies are great, but I still love the simple classics. And Great Value Chocolate Chip Refrigrated Cookie Dough is great for baking plain old chocolate chip cookies - that taste anything but plain.  These jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies were made by slicing the Great Value refrigrated cookie dough tube into only 6-8 slices and then baking as directed on the packaging.

So come on back next week when I show everyone how my cookies turned out. And to find out other frugal ways to use Great Value refrigerated dough items for Easter, check out the following bloggers -

Amanda, Coping With Frugality, http://www.copingwithfrugality.com
Amee, Madame Deals, http://www.madamedeals.com
Angela, Frugal Living NW, http://www.frugallivingnw.com
Ashley & Julie, Frugal Coupon Living, http://www.frugalcouponliving.com
Beth, Simply Budgeted, http://www.simplybudgeted.com
Christi, Frugal Novice, http://frugalnovice.com
Jen & Sia, Thrifty NW Mom, http://www.thriftynorthwestmom.com
Jenn, Frugal Upstate, http://www.frugalupstate.com
Jennifer, The Simple Pen, http://thesimplepen.com/
Karen, Koupon Karen, http://www.kouponkaren.com
Kasandria, Southern Bella's Ways to Save, http://www.southernbellaswaystosave.com
Kim, 2 Kids and a Coupon, http://www.twokidsandacoupon.com
Leanette, Teach Me 2 Save, http://teachme2save.com
Tara, Unsophisticook, http://unsophisticook.com/


Enjoy!


Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a sponsored blogging tour by The Motherhood and Great Value. All opinions are my own.

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REVIEW: Rise of the Guardians Hopping Eggs Blu-ray/DVD Gift Pack is perfect for Easter Baskets

Great movie plus cute hopping eggs equal a great Easter basket gift that everyone will enjoy...

My son and I really wanted to see the movie Rise of the Guardians when it was first released during the 2012 Christmas holiday season. But life got in the way and we did not get to see it. So I have very excited when Paramount Pictures sent me a special combo pack of the movie for review.  This special edition combo pack contains the Blu-ray, DVD, and UltraViolet™ Digital Copy of the movie along with two delightful hopping toy eggs inspired by the ones seen in the film.

Rise of the Guardians is a great animated movie that puts a totally new spin on all the childhood folklore that we love and adore.

In the story, the Boogy-man has decided that he no longer wants to exist as a scary figure that lives under children's beds. So he concocts an evil plan to take over the world by making children lose their faith in the existence of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and Sandman. You see, these four are really more than what they seem because the Man in the Moon has chosen them to be Guardians - the protectors of childhood innocence.

Santa has a globe at the North Pole that contains a light for every child who believes - and as long as the lights shine indicating that kids still have faith, everything is fine. But as the Boogy-man's evil plot is carried out, the lights all go out one-by-one until only one child in the world still believes. And the four Guardians must now trust in a new unlikely Guardian named Jack Frost to save the world's children from being overcome by their fears.

Rise fo the Guardians is an excellent movie with a terrific plot and wonderful action sequences that kids of all ages will adore. This movie reminded me a lot of how Marvel comics did The Avengers, which brought together all our favorite super heros into one great action movie.

I loved the fact that we see a new spin on Santa, who has tattoos of Naughty and Nice on his arms, and the Easter Bunny who is really from the land down under, Australia. And the story of Jack Forst is a plot twister that unwinds as we learn little by little through the movie who he really is and why he was picked as the new Guardian.

Rise of the Guardians will debut on Blu-ray and DVD on Tuesday, March 12th. And just in time for Easter baskets, the Blu-ray/DVD combo and the DVD will be released in a special gift pack with the film and two hopping toy eggs (inspired by the ones you will see in the film).

So be on the look out for Rise of the Guardians this Tuesday, March 12th and if your want the hopping toy eggs special edition for your child's Easter basket, act fast since they are available in limited qualities at local retailers.


Enjoy!


Disclosure: I received a complementary copy of the Rise of the Guardians Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack with special Easter eggs gift pack included.  I am an Amazon affiliate.  All opinions are my own.

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Happy Easter from FREEISMYLIFE

Photo Credit: NYC Easter Hat Parade - Flickr Creative Commons

Easter is a Gift

Easter is the gift of HOPE

Easter is the gift of PEACE

Easter is the gift of LOVE

Let us rejoice in Him,

Who gives them all.

May God bless you at Easter,

And keep you all year through.

May God give you all the faith it takes,

To make your dreams come true.

May His love and wisdom always help,

To guide you on your way.

May His light shine down upon you now,

To bless your Easter Day.

- Author Unknown

Enjoy!


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GIVEAWAY: WIN a $75 VIP deluxe coffee basket from Coffee Beanery for Easter ENDS 4/10 (CLOSED)

This VIP basket from the Coffee Beanery would make a wonderful Easter Basket

Spoil one Very Important Person with a deluxe basket from Coffee Beanery...

It's almost Easter and while the kids are getting ready for their Easter baskets, why not spoil that special coffee lover with a Easter basket from Coffee Beanery that is like nothing they would ever expect.

Coffee Beanery has a VIP deluxe coffee basket featuring a fabulous silver travel mug and a huge assortment of straight and flavored coffee valued at $74.99 that they can ship anywhere in the US.

Here’s a list of all the coffee goodness included in the basket:

1-Stainless steel logo travel mug (comes with a 5 year warranty from the manufacturer)
1-16 oz French Vanilla Flavored Coffee
1-1.75 oz Colombian Supremo Sampler
1-1.75 oz Beanery Blend ® Sampler
1-1.75 oz CB Breakfast Blend Sampler
1-1.75 oz Sumatra Mandheling Sampler
1-1.75 oz Guatemalan Huehuetenango Sampler
1-1.75 oz Italian Dark Blend Sampler
1-1.75 oz English Toffee & Cream Sampler
1-1.75 oz Vanilla Nut Cream Sampler
1-1.75 oz Chocolate Raspberry Sampler
1-1.75 oz Hazelnut Sampler
1-1.75 oz Café Carmel Sampler
1-1.75 oz Pumpkin Spice Sampler
1-1.75 oz Chocolate Mint Kiss Sampler
1-1.75 oz Coco Mocha Nut Delight Sampler
1-1.75 oz Sinful Sundae Sampler
1-1.75 oz Caramel Apple Sampler
1-Willa's Shortbread Mocha Almond Bites Cookies
1-Republic of Tea Ginger Peach tea bag
1-Republic of Tea Chamomile Lemon tea bag
1-1.25 oz Coffee Beanery Irish Cream Cocoa
1-1.25 oz Coffee Beanery Raspberry Cocoa

Coffee People Who Care...

Coffee Beanery opened its first stores in the United States in 1976, before the American public knew the term “specialty coffee.” In the 30 years that have followed, Coffee Beanery continues to build its brand and franchise organization on the principles of time-tested and honored traditions and values.

Exceptional coffee, a warm relaxing environment, and a corporate culture that embraces its franchisees with every opportunity to succeed exemplify these values. Today, Coffee Beanery has over 100 locations throughout the U.S., 20 locations internationally, and is recognized as an industry leader for its unique family business approach, corporate culture and commitment to quality.

Coffee Beanery sells all kinds of coffee included flavored, decaf, blends, organics, and rare blends including 100% Jamaican Blue Mountain and 100% Hawaiian Kona--no. They also sell coffee necessities including coffee makers, mugs, canisters, and grinders.

I love Michigan companies...
Coffee Beanery is a Michigan based company with a 45,000 square-foot facility in Flushing, Michigan that houses the corporate headquarters, warehousing and distribution center, and the production facility where all of the hand-selected beans are roasted, flavored and packaged.

GIVEAWAY
One FREEISMYLIFE reader will win a Coffee Beanery VIP deluxe coffee basket featuring a fabulous silver travel mug and a huge assortment of straight and flavored coffee.  The giveaway has a retail value of $74.99 - HOLLA to the FREE !!!


TO ENTER

-  Fill out the information in the form below.

 - One entry per person please. Duplicate entries will be removed.

 - USA addresses only.

- The contest ends on Tuesday, April 10th, 2012 at 11:59 am EST.

 - One winner will be selected by random number generation.

 - Prize will be fulfilled to winner by Coffee Beanery.  NO P.O. BOXES. USA ADDRESSES ONLY.

(6) EXTRA GIVEAWAY ENTRIES

- You can get 1 extra giveaway entry for following Coffee Beanery on Facebook.


- You can get 1 extra giveaway entry for following FREEISMYLIFE on Facebook.


- You can get 1 extra giveaway entry for following Coffee Beanery on Twitter.


- You can get 1 extra giveaway entry for following FREEISMYLIFE on Twitter.


- You can get 1 extra giveaway entry for answering the Coffee Beanery question at this link.

- You can get 1 extra giveaway entry for tweeting the following message on Twitter "I entered the @freeismylife giveaway to win a $75 @coffeebeaneryHQ gift basket http://bit.ly/HDHp0b "  



Enjoy!


Disclosure: Coffee Beanery is supplying the gift basket for this giveaway.

Random.org has spoken!!! Out of 533 entries, Random.org has picked #60. Congratulations to the winner of the Coffee Beanery $75 VIP Deluxe Gift Basket - Rachel Partain of Leonard, MI !!!

Living for the (FREE) Easter Holiday Weekend in Metro Detroit - April 22nd - 24th

Put on your Easter Bonnet !

Here is a highlight of the FREE and low cost activities you can do this Easter holiday weekend in the metro Detroit area and beyond:

On Friday, remember to enter the Mobi Headphonies Giveaway for a chance to win one of two Sumo Mobi Headphonies which would be perfect for your Easter Basket.  But HURRY! The giveaway ends at noon (EST)

Friday is your last chance to get  25% off at your food bill at the Coach Insignia or No. VI Chophouse restaurants.  Just bring in a copy of this email to get your discount.

Friday is Earth Day and if you are a coffee drinker, I have two FREEBIES you will love.  If you have a refillable travel mug, bring it to your local Starbucks for FREE Coffee or Tea.  And then take it to your local Caribou Coffee for another FREE coffee fill up.

Blockbuster Express has a FREE movie rental coupon code that is good for Friday and Saturday.  What will you rent? I family movie like "Toy Store 3"?  A holiday classic like "The Ten Commandments"?   It is so hard to choose from when its all FREE!

On Saturday, take the kids to the FREE Easter Fun Fest at Detroit Belle Isle Casino from 11am-3pm for a tot play area, make-and-take crafts, candy giveaways, face painting, and more. Children 6-12 years old can enjoy carnival games, prizes, inflatables, and face painting. And of course there will be egg hunting and visits with the Easter Bunny.

On Saturday, go to your local Lowes store where they will be giving away FREE TREES to celebrate Earth Month.  A total of one million trees will be given away nationwide so go early to make sure you get one.

If you are out shopping for bags this Easter weekend, use this coupon to get an extra 30% discount at the Coach Factory Outlet Store. Designer Handbags are a wonderful thing any day of the week - especially when they are dirt cheap!  This coupon ends on Monday.

On Easter Sunday, Applebees is offering a deal where 2 kids eat FREE off the kids menu with each paying adult.  So hop on over to your local Applebees on Easter for this deal.

On behalf of FREEISMYLIFE, I would like to wish everyone a HAPPY EASTER SUNDAY!!!!


Have a wonderful and blessed Easter holiday weekend,

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