We are a coffee nation, and Starbucks has over 21 million fans on Facebook to prove it! Founded in Seattle, the chain’s cool sensibilities and consistency in quality have invaded the smallest towns and the largest cities. In the summer it’s Starbucks Frappucinos and Trenta Iced Lattes; in the winter, it’s minty Hot Chocolate and fantastic Chai Lattes.

Starbucks can become a friendly habit. In case you’re looking to save some cash, don’t hesitate to purchase discounted Starbucks Gift Cards here on Plastic Jungle, because while they might give a taste away once in a while, there’s rarely a sale at Starbucks. To be the first to know when new, discounted Starbucks Gift Cards come into stock on Plastic Jungle, make sure to set a Starbucks email alert.

You should know that the new “My Starbucks Rewards” program is very versatile and customizable. You can set the card to reload with an auto-payment option, and collect “stars” toward Gold membership and free drinks. This program will replace the Starbucks Gold program and Starbucks Card Reward program.

For the latest details on the Starbucks Gift Card, Starbucks Card eGifts, and My Starbucks Rewards, check out the Starbucks Gift Card FAQ page.

For Starbucks events and promotions, be sure to follow Starbucks on Twitter, and be one of the 21 million to Like Starbucks on Facebook.

If you’re interested in purchasing Starbucks coffee online, check out the Starbucks Store.

And don’t be silly. If you have an idea for Starbucks, make sure to visit Starbucks’ dedicated site, My Starbucks Idea, where your idea is published and voted on.

To help you create your own Starbucks Signature drink and show you the options you have, the build-your-beverage experience at MyStarbucksSignature.com worth your time.

Check the Balance on Your Starbucks Gift Card

Online: Check your Starbucks Gift Card balance online.  All you’ll need is the card’s 16-digit number and its CSC (Card Security Code), which is an 8-digit number that can be found under the scratch-off coating on the back of your card.

In-Store: Find a Starbucks near you using the Starbucks Store Locator.

Sell Your Gift Card

Once you know your balance, you can sell or trade your gift card securely on Plastic Jungle. At Plastic Jungle, you can trade any unused gift card for cash, or an Amazon.com Gift Card, or use it to donate the funds to charity (Gift Cards for Good—look for the green ribbon at checkout), or even fund a PayPal account.

To know how much your gift card is worth in exchange on Plastic Jungle, on the main page, click “Sell Gift Cards” at the top of the page. Look up the store and enter the gift card balance you’ve just acquired. You’ll see instantly what your gift card balance is worth in cash or trade.

Check other Plastic Jungle blog posts for the same “Check Your Gift Card Balance” information for other stores, including Sears, Land’s End, Macy’s, Best Buy, Lowe’s, and more.

Let Plastic Jungle help make this Mother’s Day even better with an extra $50 to spend!

Be logged into Facebook, and enter to win Plastic Jungle’s Mother’s Day Gift Card Sweepstakes now  >>>

Plastic Jungle is giving away a $50 Gift Card each day, through May 8th, 2011, to deserving moms who simply follow the link and register for the Mother’s Day Sweepstakes.

There is one question moms will have to answer, though: What Kind of Mom Are You? Whether you are a DIY Mom, or a Sporty, Stylish, Foodie or Starlet mother, Plastic Jungle has a discounted gift card just for you!

Do-It-Yourself Mom — You enjoy making it happen. You’re talented at finding the lost item, fixing the broken toy, doing up the veggie garden, and keeping it real. Your favorite discounted gift cards on Plastic Jungle are:

Lowe’s >>> |   Home Depot >>> |   J Jill >>> |   Omaha Steaks >>> |   Lands’ End >>>

Sporty Mom — Nothing wrong with a little challenge! You are talented in many areas, including leading kids in a pick-up game on the yard, knowing where the best hikes are, and fixing perfectly balanced meals. Your favorite discounted gift cards on Plastic Jungle are:

Jamba Juice >>> |   Orvis >>> |   Columbia Sportswear >>> |   LL Bean >>> |   Bed, Bath & Beyond >>>

Stylish Mom – You have a natural brilliance and are usually a fashionable step ahead of everyone else. You’ve got an outfit in your style for every occasion, from PTA meetings to Board meetings and even Soccer on Saturday. Your favorite discounted gift cards on Plastic Jungle are:

H&M >>> |   Nordstrom >>> |   Kohl’s >>> |   bebe >>> |   Ann Taylor >>>

Foodie Mom — Confidence in the kitchen, or anywhere, comes naturally for you. Nothing matters more than good nutrition, which you manage for your family and friends whether you eat in or dine out, and even in those pesky lunch boxes. Your favorite discounted gift cards on Plastic Jungle are:

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf >>> |   Baja Fresh >>> |   Legal Sea Foods >>> |   Crate and Barrel >>>

Starlet Mom — You might be emotional, but it’s all about the story for you: you can’t help but show pride at your daughter’s game-winning goal, jump for joy when you reserve at Disneyland, cry your heart out when your little guy gets his heart broken by a fellow kindergartner. Your favorite discounted gift cards on Plastic Jungle are:

Chico’s >>> |   BabyGap, Gap Kids >>> |   AMC Theatres >>> |   Buca di Beppo >>> | Barnes & Noble >>>

Giveaway ends May 8, 2011 (that would be Mother’s Day!!); check the Plastic Jungle Mother’s Day Sweepstakes official rules for details. Winners will be announced daily at facebook.com/plasticjungle.

What gift card will YOU choose, if you are chosen to win?! Let us know and tell your friends!

Good Luck! Have a Happy Mother’s Day!

And to Poetry Month, your response might be: Who Cares?!

It may very well be that poetry is past its prime. A professional poet is a hard thing to come by, and I’m fairly certain that most people couldn’t name a living poet when asked to. (It’s OK. See below for a quick list!)

What it comes down to is art: the art of our ever-changing language as a means of expression. It’s shocking to come across a poem written hundreds of years ago, and then hear lyrics written by a rapper last week, and have both “poems” ring true to you, though the language is vastly different. (Looking for “Spoken Word” poetry? Search it on iTunes, where you’ll also find audio recordings of works of poetry.)

Here we encourage your exploration into poetry, which, with a little insight, makes for brain-enlivening, fun, “quick-time” reading outside of a classroom. What’s great is that now you can listen to poetry on your MP3 or iPod, download it to your Kindle or Nook, or browse online or in a bookstore* for a juicy poetical payoff. No analysis required.

Poetry for Kids

You might think the hundreds of picture books published each year qualify as poetry for children, but really, they’re mostly just rhymed stories. Today’s teaching helps kids understand the succinct nature of poetry and language, and how their limited vocabularies are still quite effectual and expressive.

One source, Poetry for Children, a blog run by Sylvia Vardell, will give you all kinds of kids’ poetry ideas and authors, and surely something will suit your kid’s individual style. Check out “Poetry TagTime”, available for 99¢ as an ebook at Amazon.com.

Jack Prelutsky, children's book author

Jack Prelutsky, current US Children’s Poet Laureate, has a do-it-yourself poetry workshop available via Scholastic.com which can result with kids publishing their work on the web. If you’re not familiar already with Jack P.’s work, find his books at Barnes & Noble, or bn.com, or Amazon.com.

For older kids, especially the self-starter tween, young adult, and teens, Figment.com is an amazing site for reading “what everyone else is doing”, as well as an outlet to share works and receive feedback (or not!).

Poets Laureate

American Poets Laureate are determined by a consortium at the Library of Congress, and are meant to be writers whose work reflects the sentiments of their time or generation. The poets chosen tend to hold cache on the East Coast collegiate circuit; despite its diversity, the poets are worthwhile reading.

Current US Poet Laureate, W. S. Merwin’s poetry has garnered national awards. His poems reflect a mid-20^th Century angst, and question war, just as we do now. Check out his tome Migration: Selected Poems 1951-2001.

Past laureates include Robert Lowell, William Carlos Williams, Billy Collins and Kay Ryan, who recently used her stature to get community college students published in a project called “Poetry for the Mind’s Joy”. Read the successful Mind’s Joy poetry on the Library of Congress website.

Modern Poetry and the New Haiku

Wonder which authors are on today’s watch list for the publishing world? Industry journal Publishers Weekly put out a list of authors in an article “Poetry Profiled 2011” in their nod to National Poetry Month. Included in this list is a poetry guide by David Orr, Beautiful & Pointless: A Guide to Modern Poetry.

There are hundreds of poetry anthologies to find on Amazon, Borders, Indiebound.org, or at Barnes & Noble, often classified by subject: Love, Nature, Classics, Sonnets, Regional, etc. Try unusual search terms and see what you find: type in “Dog Poetry” and the first selection in query results is a fun collection written by writer’s dogs.

A new, digital phenomenon is Twitter Poetry. The emergence of poems written in 140 characters (or less) was noted recently in the Establishment’s paper-of-record, The New York Times. Look up T Poet on Twitter (@TwitterPoetry) or try the blog site TwiHaiku, where you can read Twitter examples filed by subject (love, nature, the universe), or upload your own works.

The thought of haiku might bring to mind Japan. Traditional haiku is a more carefully studied art form with centuries of history. To quench your 5-7-5 syllable haiku thirst, pick up a translated collection by Matsuo Basho, Kobayashi Issa, or Yosa Buson, or compare all three in a Haiku collection with an introduction to all three authors by the illustrious Robert Hass.

Want to read more?  Add some of these great poet’s works to your ipod or MP3 player by purchasing discounted gift cards from Plastic Jungle to make the downloads more affordable.  Or head over to your local bookstore and peruse the shelves for your favorite authors.

Get discounted Barnes & Noble Gift Cards >>>

Trade in or exchange a gift card with unused balance for an Amazon.com Gift Card >>>
Get Discounted Borders Gift Cards >>>
Get Discounted iTunes Gift Cards >>>

Get Discounted Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Gift Cards (you have to read somewhere!) >>>

Remember that most poems are copyrighted material, so think twice before you publicly publish any works that are not your own.

Enjoy the look inward, as you explore our language as it lives, changes, and even to explore its dead, fallen branches (to wax poetic!) to see how you may grow in your humanity.

Give us your favorite poems and poets. Leave a comment to let us know how you think of poetry in your daily life.

Gift Card Deals from Their Favorite Stores Save You Hassle, Make Teachers Happy

Most schools let out this Friday: scrambling for a gift to get to your child’s teacher in time might be a stress-point. Browsing through Plastic Jungle will get you on your way, and at less than retail price.

Any parent will tell you that finding the right balance between meaningful teacher gifts (something written or created by your child specifically for the teacher) and thoughtful teacher gifts (straight-on cash for poorly paid teachers) is an annual quandary.

Teachers love gift cards – they don’t require watering, or display, or even add empty calories to their diet. Here are some ideas from GiftCardGirlfriend.com.

Plastic Jungle saves parents the hassle of even perusing the gift card mall at the grocery store. Right here is an aggregate of top-brand gift cards that run the gamut from Starbucks to Bath & Body Works to Walmart to Sony Style, and iTunes retail and online stores*. With an eCode, or an online gift card, you can shop as late as Thursday night, and get your teacher’s gift in by Friday. Plus, these are discounted gift cards, sent to you with free shipping, offering a price break without any hassle. (Sometimes, when you get a gift card directly from a retail outlet online, you have to pay for shipping… actually adding cost!)

One idea for presentation is to have your child make a card, and include a slot for the gift card, or a print-out of the code. You could even do a collage with items you have in mind for the teacher, or a list of songs you think the teacher might like to download.

You’ve got to save time. You’ve got to save money. And, you have to say “Thanks so much!” Plastic Jungle offers parents, and anyone gift giving this holiday season, just that.

*Remember, gift card offerings on Plastic Jungle change all the time. Check back frequently, or sign up for email notifications, for offers from the store of your choice.