Thrifty Ways and Ideas: 2009-09-13

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Thought of the Day

If you do your best, whatever happens will be for the best.

Friday, September 18, 2009

I am enjoying a vacation day from work. My family from Indiana came in this morning around 4am and are staying with us all weekend. We have a special occasion to celebrate today....My Brother-In-Law is retiring from the Navy after serving 20 years. We are attending his retirement cermony at noon.

The rest of the weekend will be spent visiting with family and cooking some great southern food for them.

Have a great weekend and I will see you Monday!

Thrifty and Neat Blog Entries Found This Week

1) Man Decorates Room with $10 worth of Sharpies - This is the most frugal way of decorating that I have seen. Amazing!!

2) Top 5 Fall and Winter Meals - Thrifty Florida Mom shares her best dishes for fall and winter.

3) Creating a Warm Fall Glow - Lots of great thrifty tips to add to your home for fall.

4) How to Resurrect a Paint Brush - Great tip to remember when doing a painting DIY project.

5) The Best New England Corn Chowder - This sounds great.

6) Mozzeralla Pesto Grilled Cheese - These look great. I love anything with cheese.

7) Brown Sugar Cake with Fresh Peaches - I love desserts with fruit.

8) Chicken Rigatoni al Fresco - Sounds great and you make in the microwave.

FREE CHOCOLATE FRIDAY

"What is Real Chocolate Relief? Mars only uses Real Chocolate - that means its made with 100% pure, cocoa butter. Come back to www.realchocolate.com every Friday through September to get FREE* Real Chocolate coupon for your favorite Mars brand. If its Mars, then you know it is real chocolate. Give away starts 9am EST every Friday.''

Thought of the Day

Peace in Our Heart, Harmony in Our Home

Thursday, September 17, 2009

What Did You Get For FREE This Week?

Lots of great FREE Goodies in the mail this week:

Stayfree Ultra Thin Sample and $1 Coupon
FREE Parents Magazine
TGIF member card and coupons
2 Rebate Checks
FREE TV Guide
FREE Family Fun Magazine
FREE Manaken Rice Vinegar Cookbook with Coupons
FREE Elle Decor Magazine
FREE Traditional Home Magazine
FREE Quaker Dark Chocolate Raspberry Almond True Delight Bar with Coupons

Did you get anything exciting this week?

4 FREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS FROM KENNY LOGGINS NEW CHILDRENS CD

Thanks to One to One Network, I was lucky enough to receive and review the new CD from Kenny Loggins and loved it. Now I am able to share 4 of the songs with you for FREE.

First, you need to listen to the 4 songs, take a quick survey and then you will receive an email with a link to download your 4 songs.

Click here to begin.

Enjoy!!

THRIFTY THURSDAY - I LOVE MY NEW BENCH

I found a new place to "thrift" shop and I love it, Habit for Humanity Store. I have been twice and both times I left with something. I have been redecorating our home office over the past couple of weeks. I have been wanting a bench and I hit the jackpot.

Here is the before picture:

I only paid $7 for the bench.

After some soap and water, spray paint, batting, fabric and a staple gun, I ended up with this.

Here is a close up to show the material.

I am very happy with my bench.

(Sorry for the pictures but a photographer I am not!)

You can find other great thrifty finds and ideas at

Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville.

READY, GO, PLAY DOH CONTEST

Who as a child did not love to play with Play-Doh?

Standing the test of time, shaping, molding and sculpting the Play-Doh compound never seems to get old! I remember making figurines and shapes out of Play-Doh.

The creative, tactile experience of producing whatever comes to mind makes for awesome indoor fun with your kids. Embracing the idea of creating food, Play-Doh has created a "Ready, Go Play-Doh" contest where our kids can come up with their own Play-Doh "food" creations for a chance to win a makeover of both their playroom and their school's playroom. You can visit here to enter by uploading a photo of your child's food-inspired Play-Doh creation along with the "recipe" to make it. The grand prize winner of the "Ready, Go Play-Doh" contest will win $10,000: $5,000 for a playroom makeover as well as a $5,000 "Doh-nation" to their child's school. Contest entries will be accepted through September 30, 2009. On October 15, 2009, the ten finalists will be posted and the public will vote on who receives the $10,000 prize! The website will also feature a gallery of entries, so even if you don't win, everyone can see your child's creation.

You can also visit www.ReadyGoPlayDoh.com each day to register to win a daily giveaway of amazing Play-Doh prizes.

FREE COPY OF NAVIGATING YOUR HEALTH BENEFITS FOR DUMMIES

Click here to request.

DISNEY ON ICE TICKETS WINNER!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

The winner of the FREE 4-pack of tickets to Disney On Ice in Charlotte, NC is Rebeca @ All Vegged Out

Comment: We're all Ariel fans here... and watch that movie at least once a week :)

Here is your random numbers:

13
TimeStamp: 2009-09-16 01:47:19 UTC

Rebeca as been emailed and has 48 hours to respond. Thanks to everyone for participating. If you are still interested in going to Disney On Ice -

Remember to use Discount Code MOM.

Thought of the Day

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

AWESOME SARA LEE COUPON

Click here to print your $3 off 1 Package of Sara Lee Sliced Deli Meat. You can print up to 4 times.

DISNEY ON ICE GIVEAWAY - ENDS TODAY!!

Reminder - Giveaway Ends Today!!

Click here to sign up.

ANOTHER GREAT BATH & BODY WORKS COUPON

Free Signature Collection Travel Size Item with Any Purchase. You can usually find gift bags for $1.

Expires 10/7/09

Click here to print.

WAYS I SAVED MONEY IN AUGUST

-I set myself a lunch budget this month if I have to eat out. I can not spend over $3 for lunch including drink. It is amazing what you can find for under $3.

- Earned $10 in Amazon Gift Cards Swagbucks (Saving for Christmas)

- Read all MyPoints emails to gift cards

- Read all emails and took surveys from Inbox Dollars

- Used coupons on all shopping trips.

- Continued to use samples for laundry detergent, lotion, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo/conditioner, etc.

- Keep lights off as much as possible.

- Shopped CVS and Walgreens for Freebies.

- Used Ebates when ordering online to receive cashback.

- Tried hard everyday to NOT turn the A/C up when it was so hot.

- Watched 2 FREE movies that I had DVR'd from Directv FREE Movie Channel Weekends.

- Purchased 2 Christmas presents for a total of $11. A great deal I find online here.

- Worked on Christmas list/Christmas Gift Closet. Gathered gifts and labeled them so I know for sure what I need to buy.

- Used Coupons and Gift Cards when Dining Out

- Hosted a Jewelry Party, received FREE jewelry for myself and for Christmas Gifts

Thought of the Day

If you are too busy to laugh, then you are too busy.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

$5 LUVS DIAPERS COUPON

Click here to print. You have to be registered at Luvs. Hurry I don't think these will last long.

WINDEX COUPONS

Click here to print Windex Coupons - $2.50 on Windex All In One Outdoor Starter Kit and $1.00 off any 1 Windex product

FREE DRINK FROM MY COKE REWARDS AND FREE APPETIZER FROM T.G.I. FRIDAYS

Log in at My Coke Rewards and you can choose your coupon by mail for a free drink (Powerade, Dasani Essence, or Minute Maid) after you sign-up for the T.G.I.Friday's 'Give Me More Stripes' club! Thanks goes to Money Saving Methods for the help on how to get your free points to redeem for your free drink.

1. Log in or register at My Coke Rewards
2. Click on 'Pick up points' tab (black) in the upper left-hand corner
3. Look for the T.G.I.Friday's logo that says 'Get 25 Bonus Points'
4. Fill out the form to sign-up for T.G.I. Friday's 'Give Me More Stripes' club
5. Receive a code by email after you submit your form
6. Enter the code at the My Coke Rewards site at the top left-hand box
7. 25 Bonus Points are awarded to your account
8. Click on 'Spend your points' tab (black) in the upper left-hand corner
9. Browse the Rewards that cost 11-50 points
10. Choose your Reward for 24 points via coupon by mail:
FREE Dasani Essense (18.5 oz), or Powerade (32 oz), or Minute Maid (20 oz)

You should receive your coupon in 3 to 5 weeks and it will expire in about 3 months. Plus you will also get a coupon for a free appetizer or dessert at T.G.I.Friday's and all the benefits of being a member of 'Give Me More Stripes'.

Thanks to Freebies4Mom for sharing this great deal.

LANDS END FEELGOOD CAMPAIGN

Lands' End is sponsoring a wonderful campaign to benefit the homeless and displaced. For every Lands' End FeelGood sweater purchased, the company will donate signature FeelGood yarn to One Heart Foundation's Warming Families, a nationwide knitting charity. Lands' End expects to donate thousands of pounds of yarn to the charity where volunteers plan to knit up to 25,000 hats and other items to warm the homeless and displaced.

Start your Christmas shopping early. Visit Lands' Ends purchase a few FeelGood sweaters as gifts and in return help donate yarn to benefit the homeless.

Below is a "how to" video featuring Vickie Howell, best-selling craft author and host of TV's Knitty Gritty.

YOPLAIT DELIGHTS REVIEW

Thanks to MyBlogSpark I recently had the opportunity to try the New Yoplait Delights. I tried the Chocolate Raspberry and I was very impressed and have purchased them since.

Like most, everyone wants an afternoon snack that taste great and is good for you. Yoplait Delight is a very rich and creamy yogurt parfait with just 100 calories. Nearly 9 out of 10 women experience a mid-day craving and have the urge to snack. This is definitely the snack for you.

Yoplait Delight is available in 4 flavors - Chocolate Raspberry, Trip Berry Creme, Lemon Torte, and Creme Caramel. A little something for everyone.

The price at my local grocery store was $2.99 / averaging .74 a cup. That is not a bad price for a healthy nutritious snack for you and your family. You can also print a coupon for $1.25 off here.

Disclaimer: My Blog Spark did send me a FREE product for writing this review. My thoughts and review is my opinion.

FREE FIELD AND STREAM MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTON

Great surprise for your husband/boyfriend.

Click here to request.

Thought of the Day

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."

Mother Teresa

Monday, September 14, 2009

WONDERFUL SUMMER MEMORIES WERE MADE

Summer is my favorite season now more than ever. I love sharing moments with Payton of things she has never experienced before. Her smile and laughter makes everything we do so enjoyable.

At the beginning of the summer, I made a list of things I wanted to do before the summer slipped away. We had so much fun and made so many great memories. These are somE of things I got to mark off my list.

She caught her 1st first fish and was determined to reel it in by herself.

We had a wonderful week at the beach. She loves to play in the and look for seashells.

We spent the day at the Lazy 5 Ranch. An incredible day with the animals.

Spending the afternoon at home playing in the pool was a favorite thing to do. This was one of the best investments we have made. I feel like the pool paid for itself this summer. Payton is like a fish in water.

Going to the ice cream parlor was a treat for Payton. Strawberry is her favorite.