It’s my 5th year Blogiversary! If you are a new reader, Welcome! If you have been following along, Thanks so much for all the note of encouragement and support throughout the years! I started this blog as a resource to get families to try new things in and around Orange County. The tone and writing style might have changed, but I still try to include time saving tips, deals, and just fun things to try. Five years ago, I really had no idea what I was doing, but the responses motivated me to keep going, and it felt great when I was helping other families. My favorite part is when I can send another family to experience it too or when someone tells me my insider tips were useful.

Fun Facts About Me

• Did you know that I used to extreme coupon? When I first became a stay-at-home-mom it freaked me out a little, because I have worked since I was 15. I didn’t know for how long I could do it, but I just knew I wanted to care for my newborn, and I didn’t trust anyone else. I used to clip coupons, file them, watch weekly sales, stockpile, and had a general idea when coupons would reprint. I did it for about two years. It took a lot of effort each week, but it taught me how to save money and only spend on necessities versus wants. I no longer have time to do it, but I still have the drive to save money and help others too.
• Why do I do giveaways? Early on, I was told from the blogging community that doing giveaways attract the wrong readership plus it takes a lot of effort to put one together, but it also adds value for our readers. For me, I will keep doing them as a way to give back, but I’m still learning the right balance. I agree that it should be a great experience for you to be here which is why I changed my newsletters to weekly versus daily. (It used to email daily every time I wrote a new post, but now I have a way to control the distribution. It is still set up to only email if there is new information.) Hopefully you like that better. Please let me know.
• I love taking pictures. I know that this is probably a given, but I just love it. I took a photography class in Santa Monica College many years ago and back then we used film and dropped them off at the labs for processing. Remember that? I know I am dating myself. Before the class, I took a ton of photos, and most of the photos were unusable, but we still kept them because it was our cherished memories. Now I still take hundreds, no thousands, but I will only share my best ones. Natural lighting is the best but I also like to photograph natural landscapes like sunsets at the beach and food.

UPDATE! I was working on a local party in South County with door prizes, but it has been postponed at this time. I’ll let you know as soon as it gets rescheduled, but for now, let’s party online!

Thank you!

My Readers, thank you for your continued support. If you are new here, welcome! There are so many blogs out there, and I’m so happy you chose to follow mine. Throughout the month of July and August, I will have a fun line-up of things that I love to do with my family around Orange County, and I will include a chance to send a LET’S PLAY OC! family! Please join us! It is going to be overwhelming, but fun. I will give you time to catch up. Make sure to sign up for our newsletters and follow us on your favorite platform. I’d love to hear from you!

XOXO,Mary@LetsPlayOC

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