Thought of the Day

"If your here & now makes you unhappy you have 3 options: remove yourself from the situation, change it or accept it."

Tolle

FINALLY FRIDAY

It has been a week filled with lots of emotion.

My baby girl turned 3 on Tuesday. She had a Dora party at school on Tuesday and we are having her family/friends party tomorrow at Chuck E. Cheese. All she has asked for is cake.

I also lost my 1st cousin very unexpectedly last Friday night. His funeral wasn't until Wednesday. He was a wonderful man who loved life. He was the 3rd generation owner of my grandparents farm. He loved being a farmer. R. I. P. Michael

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Monday!

Thrifty and Neat Blog Entries Found This Week

1) Easy Shower Curtains - Jane gives you great directions on how to make a shower curtain yourself.

2) 1001 Ways to Save "I Love You" - An awesome list you definitely need to check out.

3) Decorating on a Budget - Challenge for decorating outside for $20

4) Personalized Treat Buckets - These are adorable.

5) Simple Scarves to Keep You Cozy This Fall - I love scarves and we them often during the winter.

6) Easy Apple Turnovers - These look great.

7) Thrifty Bake Sale Packaging - Love this idea.

50 All-Time New Uses for Old Things

Great list with slideshow. You should definitely check it out here.

BUILD A BEAR COUPON

Click here to print your coupon for $5 off a $10 purchase.

Expires 10/31/09

Thought of the Day

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops are dirty the ocean does not become dirty."

Gandhi

PAYLESS SHOE STORE COUPONS

If shopping online, you can use Coupon Code 29402 for $10 off a $60 purchase.

For a coupon for 15% off your in-store purchase, click here.

Coupon Code and Coupon Expire 11/2/09.

WAYS I SAVED MONEY IN SEPTEMBER

- Continued with my lunch budget this month, 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 grocery 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.

- Used Coupons and Gift Cards when Dining Out

- Purchased Fall/Winter Clothes for myself and Payton using coupons and gift cards on most purchases.

- I did several home projects myself, painting furniture, made a memo board etc. (Find these on my Thrifty Thursday posts)


- Received several items for review this month that provided free entertainment for myself and my family
Snow White and Seven Dwarfs Diamond Edition Blu-Ray and DVD set
Tickets to Disney on Ice
Eileen Goudge's New Book - Once in a Blue Moon - Awesome Book!!
Harry Connick Jr's New CD
Rock Fire Pit
Yoplait Delight Gift Pack
Yoplait Whips Gift Pack

- Ad Revenue for September $150

COUPON FOR A FREE HAPPY BABY ORGANIC PRODUCT

Click here for a coupon for a FREE Happy Baby Organic Product. You can find also find retailers near you who carries these products here. Coupon expires 11/10/09.

Thanks to Money Saving Mom!

What Did You Get for FREE This Week?

Lots of great freebies this week:

Parenting Magazine

Family Fun Magazine

Secret Clinical Deodorant

Blue Bunny Refund from Labor Day with $2 coupon

$25 Build-A-Bear Gift Card - Blog Giveaway Winner at Icefairy's Treasure Chest (This will come in handy since I have Build-A-Bear on Fall/Winter Activity List)

BzzAgent Glade Package

Did you get any great freebies this week?

Thought of the Day

"Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional."

NATURE VALLEY GRANOLA NUT CLUSTERS SNACK PACK GIVEAWAY

Thanks to My Blog Spark, I received a Nature Valley Granola Nut Cluster "Snack Pack" to review and I have 1 additional "Snack Pack" to giveaway. This has been my husband favorite product review so far. He love the items in the "Snack Pack".

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters "Snack Pack" prize pack that includes all four (4) varieties of the Granola Nut Clusters along with a sling backpack, stainless steel water bottle, flashlight and binoculars!

How To Enter: (4 Total Entries Per Person)
- Leave me a comment telling one of your favorite elements of nature. (Required)

- Tweet about this giveaway (1 extra entry) and leave me a comment telling you did.

- Blog about this giveaway (1 extra entry) and leave me comment with the post url.

- Follow/Subscribe to my blog (1 extra entry) and leave me comment telling me you did.

This is only valid for US residents.

This giveaway will close on Sunday, October 18 at 9pm. The winner will be emailed and posted Monday morning. You will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Good Luck!!

QUIZNOS COUPONS

Click here to print your coupons.

Free Chip and Regular Fountain Drink with Purchase of Regular or Large Sub and $1 off Regular Sub or $2 off Large Sub.

7-11 - FREE HOT BEVERAGE THIS MONTH

Coupon is good for one 12 oz. coffee, cappucino, hot chocolate or tea. Coupon expires 10/31/09. Limit one coupon per customer per day.

Click here for your coupon.

FREE HUSSANA BODYCARE SAMPLES

Click here to order.

Interesting/Fun/Useful Website

Planning a trip to Disney then you definitely need to check out mousesavers.com for tips, tricks and secrets in saving money while on your trip.

Definitely a website that holds the keys to "the happiest place on earth!"

Thought of the Day

"The source of all happiness lies in thinking of others."

Shantideva

NATURE VALLEY GRANOLA NUT CLUSTERS REVIEW

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters are a bite size blend of 100% natural ingredients that include select roasted nuts, whole grain oats and a touch of honey - a wholesome and delicious pick-me-up any time of the day. If you love nuts, you´ll enjoy this flavorful little snack featuring the perfect combination of sweet & salty flavors paired with a crunchy texture that you can see and taste. And with the first unique cluster-shaped granola packaged in a handy re-sealable pouch, it´s perfect for sharing on the trails or in your living room!

New Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters come in four easy-to-crave flavors: Nut Lovers, Roasted Almond, Roasted Cashew and Honey Roasted Peanut.

My favorite way of eating the Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters was to break some up and add them to my morning yogurt that I have for breakfast. The added crunch to my yogurt made it so much more enjoyable.

My local grocery stores has the 5oz. bag for $3.49. There was a $1 coupon in the weekly newspaper coupon inserts on August 23 and September 13. That would make your price $2.49 per bag. I was able to get 7 breakfast servings out of 1 bag which make my average price per serving .36 and the price would be even better if your store doubles $1 coupon.

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

TASTY TUESDAY - CARAMEL APPLE COFFEE CAKE

Ingredients:
3 Eggs
2 Cups Sugar
1-1/2 Cups Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Cups All-Purpose flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
3 Cups Chopped Peeled Apples
1 Cup Coarsely Chopped Pecans


Topping:
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk
1 cup packed brown sugar
Dash Salt


Directions:
In large bowl, beat the eggs until foamy; gradually add sugar. Blend in oil and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to egg mixture. Stir in apples and pecans. Pour into a greased 10-inch tube pan. Bake at 350° for 1-1/4 hours or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before inverting onto a serving place.


In a small saucepan, combing topping ingredients. Bring to a boil; boil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly pour over warm cake (some topping will run down onto the plate).


Yield: 12-16 servings

You can find other great recipes at Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

FREE Frog Bath Toy From Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson has a fabulous rebate offer right now. Buy any bath product before 12/31 , mail the receipt with your name and address to:

Johnsons/Parents GWP
375 Lexington Ave, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10017

and you will get this fabulous frog bath toy a $10 value. Details HERE.

Crystal had the great idea to buy a Johnson & Johnson Buddy Soap for $.99 at Walmart using the $1 coupon from 9/13 insert making it FREE"

Thanks to the Thrifty Chic Mom for this great freebie.

Thought of the Day

My baby turns 3 today!!

Happy Birthday Payton!

MENU PLAN MONDAY - 10/12

I'm not quite sure how the menu will work this week. It is going to be one of those weeks filled with lots of things to do.





Monday - $5 Pizza from Little Ceasar's, Appointment after work


Tuesday - Payton's Birthday - Dinner Out


Wednesday - Lemon Lime Barbecue Chicken and Rice


Thursday - Stromboli and Salad


Friday - Homemade Pizza for Movie Night


Saturday - Payton's Birthday Party


Sunday - ?



You can find other great menus and recipes on Menu Plan Monday at Organizing Junkie.

RAINFOREST CAFE COUPON - $10 OFF $25 PURCHASE

Click here to print your coupon.

Coupon expires 12/31/09.

DISNEY ON ICE

What an awesome night!! Experiencing something through a child's eyes can be one of the most rewarding experiences ever.

Thanks to Mom Central, my husband and I was able to take Payton to Disney on Ice in Charlotte. The show was wonderful. We all had a wonderful time including myself. I have always been a huge Mickey Mouse fan. Here is a couple of pictures from the show.

Mickey is hiding in the cake!

Who doesn't love Mickey Mouse!


As you can tell by the picture, Payton was amazed by the show. She sat in awe during the whole show. She did get restless toward the end but couldn't keep her eyes off of the characters.

About 15 minutes before the show ended, she did look at me and say she was ready to go because she was sleepy!!

We also got to spend the night in Charlotte with no expense to us. Thanks to the Drury Inn , we received a free suite for the night at the Drury Inn in Charlotte. With my husband's job, the Drury Inn is a hotel he uses often for his crews while traveling and we received a complimentary night. The hotel was extra nice. It was Payton's first night in a hotel.

What a wonderful weekend!!

AND THE WINNER IS...

The winner of the Harry Connick Jr. CD is:

Here are your random numbers:

31 - daisiesforu

Timestamp: 2009-10-12 01:33:01 UTC

daisiesforu has been emailed and has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Thanks to everyone for participating.

I will have a new giveaway starting Wednesday.

Thought of the Day

Happy Columbus Day!

Thought of the Day

"Our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world as in being able to remake ourselves."