Today has to be the least productive day of the year for most people. You've got Christmas behind you and New Year's Eve just a few hours away. Not to mention another vacation day awaiting you tomorrow. Hopefully, you all will be able to sleep in a little bit tomorrow. You deserve it - it's been a long year!

I spent last New Year's Eve in Birmingham, AL. That was one of my first experiences with the city. Little did I know that I would be opening a new location in the city just nine months later. This year, my fiance wanted to visit some friends in Nashville, TN. I promptly told her NO because I didn't need to start another business anytime soon. So we'll be home this New Year's - but at least we get to some eat some home-cooked black eyed peas!! Thanks for making 2009 our most successful year here at Two Maids & A Mop!!!

Before we get to our FREE giveaway today, check out this interesting tidbit.....

Did You Know...
...that your pillows could be the home for millions of tiny organisms and bacteria?

Tiny organisms that look like something out of a science fiction movie could be shacking up in your home. "They can feed off your dead cells," says Blanca Cortes of EMSL Laboratories.

Dr. Cortes knows all about what can be breeding in your bed that will freak out even the cleanest of clean freaks. She works for EMSL, a national environmental microbiology lab in Orlando.

"When you start investigating, you find they have mold, bacteria, mites and then they wonder why they have allergies why they are getting hives, different symptoms and a lot of the time they are just laying on them," says Cortes.

We took samples from a store bought, hotel, and home pillow and sent them off to Dr. Cortes. The lab looked for mold, bacteria and allergens. "These results were quite surprising to tell you the truth," says Cortes.

In the brand new store bought pillow, Cortes found basically nothing. Just a few skin cells from handling. The hotel had skin cells and streptococcus--a bacteria can cause strep throat. "We didn't find anything else but yet we still have a potentially harmful bacteria," she says.

As for the home pillow, Cortes was shocked at the findings.

First he found dust mites crawling around that could cause allergies. Then it was mold found in soil than can cause allergies and sinus troubles. "They can create infections, source of food poisoning, produce toxins," she says.

Now he and probably many of you are thinking about pillows in a whole new light.

Dr. Cortes says that the best advice for everyone is for your pillows to have a pretty short life span. "After three months, get rid of your pillows and get new ones," she says.

Ninety days per pillow. It may seem costly or even a little overboard but just remember that your bug-like bed mates could be sharing your pillow the next time you lay down.