Sunday, May 29, 2011

Cracker Catastrophes and other deals.

Ladies and gentlemen, My day should be half over.

Or at least, that's the way it feels. Five AM came early, and I rose with a flutter in my chest in search of the week's deals. I am EXHAUSTED, and am really just beginning my day with the little ladies, who have taken to swinging beach chairs at each other while I type.

I'm oddly unaffected by this.

But, I digress. Today's deals. I rose early, looking two score two boxes of Ritz Crackerfuls, and have them pay me .75 to take each one from the store. This is the holy grail of couponing- the moment the store PAYS YOU to remove items from the store. This deal has been all over the blogosphere for days, so I knew I had to be quick! I got up and drove 12 MILES to the nearest 24 hour Walgreens...AND...

They were out. Completely. Not one box in the store. Seriously. I asked a clerk, who said there were supply issues. Supply issues? Really?

They had some other cracker varieties available for the two dollar price, but weren't sure if the register rewards that made them free would print. This was the beginning of a FORTY FIVE MINUTE trip to walgreens. I was well prepared, I had my stacks of coupons and my lists and my order of transactions, and the store was blissfully not prepared for me. I eventually emerged with ONE package of paper towels (I wanted two), a fusion razor, a big bottle of vitamins, a coffee drink, four AZ ice teas, two bottles of toothpaste, and three rolls of Reynolds wrap. I handed over 16 dollars and cash, and received $17 in register rewards, so I netted a buck.

Then, on to Shoprite. I picked up four packages of Solo items, two packages Chinet paper plates, 6 cans of tomatoes, five boxes of pasta, and spent $9. They gave me back a $4 catalina. The most interesting thing about this trip was that I had to stand and wait for a manager to approve my internet coupons. She stared at each one like it was a counterfeit million, but that's okay. People, please stop counterfeiting coupons! It's interfering with my day!

My giant trip isn't really worth recounting. I bought snack food for my husband and myself, along with little kids yogurts, and yet more paper plates, all in exchange for more gas points. You do what you can. I did use the tyson wings coupons that were in last weeks paper, along with some frozen whole grain waffle coupons and pizza coupons. The bill was sixty before coupons, thirty two after, six hundred gas points. (I have to email about two hundred of them that didn't show up again.) I'm up to 1.10 off a gallon of gas. I did receive three free boxes of pasta, and a jar of sauce here, so I guess it's not a total waste of money.

Then, to CVS. Again, they were missing several of my deals, so I grabbed four toothbrushes, some preparation H wipes, and a couple of candy bars. Out of pocket= $0. Yep, free. Plus I received 8 dollars in register rewards.

Back to another Walgreens. One lonely, busted up Crackerfuls box stood on the barren shelf, and yes, I snatched it. I like those. I also got the other package of paper towels, two boxes of cereal, another coffee drink, more free tooth paste, out of pocket four dollars. That I'm a little mad about, because the woman gave me a fight about adjusting down my ten dollar register rewards (even though I believe that's the policy) and I had to either go back and get filler items to use the other two I had or pay cash. *insert frownie face here.* Got back four dollars in register rewards.

On to the last CVS, hoping I would have luck, and I kind of did.

I had a five dollar off twenty five coupon, as well as a ten percent beauty pass, so I gave them fifteen dollars and got 4 cases of soda, a concealor, two toothbrushes, a mascara, and two green bag tags. I got seven dollars in EB back.

I guess it was a good day. I'm so mad they didn't have my crackers, because I LOVE those passionately.

I'm tired. Visiting blogs later today, and not looking at coupons for at LEAST three days.

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Friday, May 27, 2011

Coupons, deals, and potential disasters.

Companies everywhere, you should be very afraid.

One group of gray haired ladies and black nailed teenagers stand between you, and complete and utter bottom line ruin. And they are taking you there, one slow and steady step at a time.

Exhibit A: I give you Weis last week, where a hawk eyed, coupon snatching, argumentative cashier gave me problems about EVERY. SINGLE. COUPON. while simultaneously not ringing in at least one five dollar item. This five dollar item actually cost me 11 dollars and resulted in twenty five minutes of my time being spent at customer service where I first broke one customer service agent and then had the manager tapping away on an adding machine for what seems like a decade.

But seriously, being more concerned about my coupons than actually doing your job and ringing things in? Really?

Exhibit B: Let's go to Giant, the land where the highest prices in the world exist. If you spend a dime on anything that is NOT a loss leader, it's at least fifty cents more than it would be ANYWHERE else. Once again, MOST of the cashiers will read your coupon like there's going to be a pop quiz on it with a million dollar prize for getting a hundred, but will often forget to scan items. Now, I ask you, which is more important? Accounting for everything properly, or reading coupons for comprehension? Here's a hint- the word OR does NOT mean "must buy two products." That would be the word "AND". Giant side note- I'm actually pretty amazed at the night crew at my local Giant. They are friendly, helpful, and quick. DO NOT USE COUPONS THERE DURING THE DAY IF YOU CAN HELP IT AT ALL. The day people are so suspicious it's not even funny. They don't even scan the coupons to see if they work, no, each one is held up under complete and total scrutiny, as if I've presented them a phony five thousand dollar bill, rather than a coupon for twenty cents off Jello.

Yesterday, I got a couple of coupons in the mail for a couple of packages of dinner mixes from cafemom. I need to try them out this weekend, see how the kids like them, and post it up. Now, when I go into Giant, there are ONLY loss leaders or free items in my basket, grouped by coupon/deal, with the coupons in the corresponding order so the cashier can clearly see all the items. The first thing they do, every single time, is mix up the coupons. I don't know why. I guess it makes them happy. I don't know, but it costs me money almost every single time. I had the free items up front, with the coupons on top, and I explained to the girl that these were free and there were coupons for them. She rolls her eyes and takes off a dollar (MANUALLY) instead of four per box.

And yes, I am now THAT PERSON. I wouldn't be BUYING the box mixes if they weren't free. I got my four dollars, of course, joking lightly that I'm sure she was convinced that coupons were the devil.

*Big, Deep, sigh* The stories go on and on. But I do have one more I want to share.

Dunkin' Donuts. Now, I recently ended my year long boycott of the local Dunkin Donuts over a uniform dispute involving my daughter asking what it meant to "like head", which was added to an employee's uniform. After I explained what the slang meant to the young man who was managing, he blushed and asked the kid to take the sticker off the uniform. After the manager walked away, the kids laughed and whispered loudly about me being prudish. Prudish, I am not. Being forced by a bunch of snot nosed teenagers to explain to a nine year old what it means to "like head" is not my cup of tea. (and yes, I do realize that the fact that I just typed that sentence out means my internet age is 90. I don't care.)

Well, it appears Dunkin Donuts has a general policy of ripping their customers off. They have coffee deals and iced tea deals posts as value meals. If you do not SAY value meal, they will not give you the value meal pricing. Now, you KNOW a coffee and a sandwich is a value meal. But you don't ring it in that way unless the customer requests the discount. And they often ring things in incorrectly as well. Today's misring cost me 70 cents and five minutes. Rather than make a fuss, I just didn't make a donation into the tip cup. I'm not entirely sure that working behind the counter entitles you to a percentage of my meal as commission, especially when you aren't really helpful or kind or funny or attentive or, I don't know, active.

So, that's my rant for the week, which actually should have been TWICE as long since I've now taken to ringing up deals at Walgreens ONE. DEAL. AT. A. TIME. so I can keep a better eye on the cashiers and not have to discuss MULTIPLE mistakes in the same discussion.

It's not hard. Ring in the items. ALL of them. Ring in the coupons, again, ALL of them.

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Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Scott's Liquid Gold Review



I stopped buying furniture polish YEARS ago.

It was one of those minutes when you have a finite amount of money in your wallet and an infinite amount of items on your list, and you have to choose between another meal for your kid and another cleaner. I googled, found out I could clean with a damp microfiber, and never looked back.

So, when I saw Scott's Liquid Gold was looking for reviewers, I hesitated before I clicked "apply". It's not a product I use every day, but I have ridiculously fond memories of my grandma scrubbing her fiberboard furniture with it, and the way the house would smell after. Like almonds. She was a good lady.

And so, I clicked the little button, and Scott's Liquid Gold sent me two products to try. The aerosol furniture polish, and the concentrated wood wash.

It smells as good as I remembered.

The thing that is really different about cleaning with Scott's is my furniture was really shiny after. The microfiber lifts dirt, but it doesn't do anything to protect the wood, or leave that nice almond smell. Sold.

EXCEPT for the aerosol. You know I don't love that. Scott's offers plenty of wood care products that aren't aerosol, though, and they make them right here in the good old US of A. Right in Denver, CO. That's right, American jobs.

Thanks for the sample, Scott's. You've got a customer for life.

Find Scott's on Facebook

You can also follow them on twitter.

I'm waiting to hear back from the company if they are offering a giveaway or not. If they are, it will posted at a later date.


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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Getting the Deals.

I haven't been doing a lot of Walgreens shopping, because the nearest one is 9 miles away. Of course, some weeks it's worth it, and this is one of them. I set out this morning, note it being MONDAY, and hit two separate Walgreens.

Both were out of the first two items I needed for my planned transactions. On Monday.

I proceeded with my second planned transaction, but had to stop my shopping at that point. I chose, yesterday, instead of beating the door down at Walgreens when they opened, to relax and take a minute with the family to look at cars and get my kid a glitter tattoo.

It was totally worth it, but now, I have to go to Walgreens AGAIN on Friday to try and complete my deals, which doesn't give me a lot of time to post them up here, now does it?

Oh, well, Check out Living Well, Spending Less for good ideas. I don't like to post up until I've got results and pictures to boot.

On the plus side, both Walgreens I checked DID have PLENTY of the Scunci hair ties that are free after RR, so I've taken advantage of that.

Ourfamilyworld

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Sunday, May 22, 2011

Frugal Fun

Have you ever been to a car show? My husband adores the lines and lines of assorted pristine cars arranged with their hoods up for his viewing pleasure. I'm not much of a car person, but give me something the kids can do for free fun, and I'm there.

Wind Gap had one today. It was really cute- we were there really, really early and cars were still arriving. Most notably, we got to see the Big Banana Car-deemed street legal just last week. They even let the kids get in and take a picture for free!


Lots of fun, right? I can't believe that used to be a Ford pickup truck, can you? The kids loved, loved, loved it. Since they are driving the Big Banana Car around the world at some point, there's a good chance YOU might be able to see it, where ever you are. You can like them on Facebook, or check out their website for more details.


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This is not a sponsored post. I just thought seeing my kids stuffed into a banana was cool.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Swagbucks Event!

You all know how much I love swagbucks, right? It fits right in with my couponing and my moderator tasks. You search, you win swagbucks, you buy gift cards with them. Makes the money go just a little bit further, you know?

Well, they're having themselves a little shindig in honor of memorial day- games, a bit of fun, and a "Score Four and Twenty Swagbucks Challenge." I love these! If you can manage to collect all four by next Thursday, then you get a sweet twenty swagbuck reward!

Thursday, they're having a swagbuck code extravaganza- over forty dollars in swagcodes will be given away. They do these all over the place, so you have to keep your eyes peeled: Like them on Facebook, Follow them on Twitter, and don't forget to check the Swagbucks blog.


Now, if this is the moment you've officially decided that I am a blabbering idiot who has taken to inventing words, that means you haven't gotten on to the swagbucks train yet. Tsk, tsk. Let's fix that.

Go here- and sign up- making sure to put the code MEMORIALDAY in when prompted. That'll help you out with an extra 50 swagbucks on top of the 30 you already get just for being you. Once you register, take a peek around. They've got coupons that earn you bucks, surveys, shopping, and my favorite, the search engine. Don't forget to check out the rewards section, so you know how much you want to win to get your favorite gift!

Good luck, and happy Swagbucking!


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Thursday, May 19, 2011

I'm trying out a new method of couponing.

I spent, and I'm very serious here, probably fifteen hours last week couponing.

Too much time. I didn't give up my beloved career for bonus time cutting paper into squares. I'm trying something new this week- I've got a big file portfolio, and I'm just filing the coupons according to the week they come in without clipping them. Then, I'm checking out sites like Living Rich with Coupons, Debbie Does Coupons, and Saving Well Spending Less. They do all the match ups a couple of days in advance, and tell you how many and which inserts the coupons are in, so I'm just going to slip the insert I need out, clip only the coupons that I need, and hopefully trim the madness down and wash my floors.

Note: The CVS match ups are already out, so you need to grab any printable coupons you need, STAT, or miss out.

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And the day of bargaining comes to an end.

I'm tired.

Late night last night, early morning this morning, and a long day of battling with multiple cashiers has left me tired, frustrated, and a little concerned with the education system in America. I literally had to argue, with a human, in each store, to receive the deals advertised in the paper.

Whether it be an incorrectly marked items included in a sale (Target) or a missed case of soda that the cashier somehow managed to miss after she specifically ASKED me not to put it on the counter, which almost DOUBLED my bill (Weis), or the customer service guy at Weis who was, well, a little taken aback at the numbers coming out of my mouth, to the lady at Shoprite who regarded my internet coupons as if I'd conjured them in a cauldron rather than printing them off of coupons.com. Or maybe we want to talk about Walgreens, who deliberately manufactured a lesser discount than the one the coupon I handed her offered.

Ugh. At the end of the day, though, I spent a little over fifty dollars out of pocket and got ridiculous deals. At Target, I took my Cafemom gift cards, which totaled $125, and got 12 rolls of paper towels, 24 rolls of toilet paper, three boxes of tampons, a bottle of shampoo, a bottle of conditioner,bottle of baby shampoo, two pounds of deli turkey, four sticks of deodorant,6 bottles of high heat Pam, a dress, three shirts, two of those razors my husband likes, two bottles of nail polish, three garden hoses, two large bags of Iron Man, Spidermanand truck toys for the kids- roughly three hundred and fifty dollars worth of items, for only $20 out of our bank. It looked like this:
At Walgreens, I completed the deal I mentioned the other day...(small stack on the right)
The stack on the left, was $13 at Shoprite, and included, 1 pack of coffee, five boxes of tissues, a bottle of baby shampoo and a bottle of baby body wash, two boxes of pasta, a pound of cheese, and a box of bagel pizzas, (refrigerated items not shown). I got two dollars back on my next order. According to the receipt, this order was $30.

Finally, and this is a much less impressive picture and a much more impressive deal-
I spent $8 at Weis, and after breaking the customer service guy and two trips back out to the car in the pouring rain, they actually CHARGED me $8. I brought home five cases of soda, two boxes of veggie pasta, and two bags of chips. I have to say, though, the manager over there is fabulous, very friendly, very sweet, very helpful. The signage, not so much.

Oh, and one more deal I'm happy with....
Our gas bill for the week. I'm officially taking 24 hours off couponing before I get ready to do it again next week.

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Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Mommying.

There have been no funny stories lately, people, and I'm sorry about that. We're settling into kind of a rut in the quickly becoming old new place, and at this point all of my funny stories make me sound like a whiny brat.

Miss Angel Baby is about to turn two, and karma is paying me back sorely for commenting after my first two children that there is no such thing as the terrible twos: both of my kids were angels.

Let me tell you what happens the moment you judge. The universe just craps on you. So, every morning, noon, and night, Miss Angel Baby and I go head to head in an epic battle of wits-who comes out the winner will not be determine for up to twenty years. She screams, I point. She hollars, I give time outs. She begs to nurse, and I avoid her like the plague. If I wrote about this predictable yet frustrating dance of motherhood each time it happens, it would not be an accurate picture of my truly semi-charmed life. I love my kids. I love staying home with them. I've never been so happy in my life to go to work when I get to go. So that's why I'm not really writing about this so much right now. I don't want time to go by and one of the kids to read this blog, these words I've tossed out to the universe at large, and think for one moment I was anything but thrilled at the life I've chosen.

So, the daily grind is going on. Angel Baby can count and recognizes some letters, and Little Girl has a vocabulary that never fails to make my jaw drop. And to make things even better, if you ever come over to dinner, peek under my table, it's very special and beautiful, and it's the result of me attempting to go to the bathroom while stickers were within view.

Almost 12 years of mommying, and I still make rookie mistakes.


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Find Me Here:
Bassgiraffe's Thoughts Thursday Blog Hop

Monday, May 16, 2011

A Couple of great deals for you! While you're stopping by...

Target has clothing coupons available on their website. There's three dollars off Merona and two dollars off ladies tops, as well as three dollars off men's and women's sandals priced fifteen dollars or higher. Also, a friend of mine let me know about these deals:

I'm copy and pasting her work. She's a smart girl
Buy $15 Worth of Rimmel Cosmetics – BOGO 50% off = $5.00 +UpR
Deal Idea Based on Online Pricing:
Buy (2) Rimmel Special Eyes Precision Eye Liner Pencil – $3.17 + $1..59 Buy (2) Rimmel Glam’Eyes Mascara – $6.89 + $3.45
Use (2) $2.00/1 Rimmel Product (at Rite Aid) printable or facebook printable Use (2) $2.00/1 Rimmel Mascara from April All You (or use a third printable from above if you only have one All You Mag) Use $2.00/1 Rimmel Glam’Eyes Day-2-Night Mascara April Video Values Pay $5.10, get back $5.00 +UpR
Final cost is all the above for ONLY $0.10

here is a coupon idea at walgreens Gillette Body Wash (16 oz) - 3/$10.00 = $3.00 RR Deal Idea:
Buy (3) Gillette Body Wash – $10.00
Buy (3) Gillette Deodorant - free with coupons
Use (3) Buy Gillette Body Wash, Get Free Gillette Deodorant from 5/1 PG Use (3) $2.00/1 Gillette Body Wash from 5/15 RP
Pay $4.00, get back $3.00 RR
Final cost is $0.17 each

I haven't been doing Walgreens or Riteaid so much since it's a drive, but when this friend sends me a deal, it's always worth the drive! Thanks, Cindy!
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Tuesday Hopping!

Once again girls, I'm totally focused! Let me know what you need done! a new twitter follower, a giveaway entered? Leave me a comment and I'm there!
Ourfamilyworld


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Cute Handmade Bows

Between all my couponing, I'm really funny about supporting home businesses. I like to give my money to the little guy, and really don't like buying from China.

I picked up these bows for my daughter's 4th birthday, but set the package aside and she saw pink and grabbed. She won't let me take them out of her hair now, so I wanted to take a moment to spotlight the bows and the wonderful lady who makes them. Again, I'm breaking my rule about posting pics of the girls, but it's worth it for this sweet etsy shop.


Aren't they beautiful! The two beautiful handmade bows AND the sweet necklace were only twelve dollars. The only problem is now she doesn't want to take them off for nap time.

If you've got little girls to buy gift for, please check out CrownofBows Etsy Shop for sweet, handmade, and original gift items.
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Sunday, May 15, 2011

CVS deals and (more) gas points.

So, I got my butt up at 7:45 this morning to make it to CVS as it opened. The cashier confirmed that I am NOT the only deal seeker in the Slate Belt. In fact, I plowed past a distracted woman in a pick up truck who was suspiciously eyeing up my diaper deal, which was THIRD not first on my list of planned transactions, AND the coupon machine at the front of the store was not cooperating.

It's getting ugly out there, people. Evidently, this CVS has an extreme couponer that's about ten years old, and is better at it then I am, according to the lady at the register. Ten years old. I have an eleven year old that I have to talk down from spending every cents she owns at least six times a week. The same child rolls her eyes every time I try to explain my couponing deals to her.

So, anyway, my heart is thumping in my chest, because, let's face it, CVS trips are largely about ME. This is the only way I can really both buy makeup AND pay the bills, and having grown up unfortunately several years ago, the bills MUST be paid. Maturity is a real drag.

Here's what I did this week:
L'oreal Deal: Buy 15 bucks worth, get 5 extra care bucks. I picked two mascaras and a concealer and used $2 coupons off.
Neutragena: buy two sunscreens and get ten dollars in extra bucks. I chose two sticks that were 8.49 each, and I printed two coupons of the companies website for two dollars off one.
Herbal Essences: Buy two for 3.49 each get two dollars in extra care bucks. Used two one dollar coupons off each.

Paid my bill and stalked the coupon machine. Still not working. At this point I'm totally paranoid that I'm not going to get my diapers(they only had one case!) so I went out of order.

Huggies, Case of 70, on sale for $19.00, buy $25 worth, get $5 bucks back in extra care bucks. I grabbed some wipes which brought the total just to $25, used a 3.50 coupon on the companies website, and paid with my extra bucks from the last purchase, plus two dollars out of pocket.

Still no coupon machine.

Depressed, I completed the last purchase without the mythical John Frieda CVS coupon to stack with the manufacturers coupon I already had. The professional hair color mousse was on sale for $11.99, plus I had a five dollar off coupon, and five dollars in extra care bucks, so it cost me another two dollars. It should have been free, but I really kind of needed it because my sister looked at my hair last week and yelled, you're going gray! And so I spent $35.00 out of pocket, but came home with over $70 worth of product. Of course, if you go by CVS's normal prices, they say it was $100 worth of product. I'm happy.


Also, Giant has some candy bar deals this week, buy 5 get 200 gas points. There were coupons in the paper two weeks ago. If you've got a husband with a vending machine habit, these are a good deal.



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Friday, May 13, 2011

How to get 3,300 gas points in one week.

Times are tough, my friends.

I don't have to tell you that. Hopefully gas WILL go down soon, but until then, "pain at the pump" is such an overused cliche that I almost have guilt just from typing it.

Gas prices suck. The higher they go, the tighter money gets, and the harder I look for deal after deal to keep us not only in the black, but with enough money to have something of an entertainment budget for the hot days ahead of us. So, couponing and deal seeking has become my third job (or fourth, or fifth, I'm having a hard time keeping track at this point.) And I'm pretty proud of myself this week. I scored 3,300 gas points, and a chestful of meat and ice cream, to boot, for a pretty reasonable $172 dollars. Yes, I spent $172 on burgers, chicken wings, sausages, and ice cream, but with not one, but FOUR birthday parties to host over the summer, that is a relative steal. If I'd waited till the weeks before the parties, I'd be spending probably double that anyway.

So here's what I did, just in time for you to do it, too, if you happen to have an empty chest freezer and a couple of hundred dollars you can put on hold to fill it.

I made three trips to the store:
At the first, I bought:

6 containers of Greene's/Kemps Ice cream, 3 for $8, with the coupons that were in Sunday's paper.
4 Fiber one bars, 2 for five, using the $1 off coupons.

3 packages of meat for four hundred extra bonus points.

Next two trips:
300 point coupon

Six packages of meat (for each three you purchase off the list you get 400 gas points.

The key is to choose items that are NOT more than $1.99 a lb, or something you really like to eat at either the normal price you purchase it at OR LOWER. If you don't meet these conditions, you're just sliding your spending, you're not reducing it.

So at this point, next week's fill up will be at $3.30 off. Yippee! I'm excited so excited!

Actually, I'm headed back to Giant tonight or early tomorrow, because Smart Ones are six for ten, and I've got a coupon for five bucks off 12.

And while we're talking coupons, get a free market fresh chicken salad sandwich at Arby's when you buy a 22 oz pepsi. Like their facebook page to get the coupon!

There's a coupon in last Sunday's paper for 300 extra gas points with a $50 purchase at Giant. So I had two papers and bummed a third coupon for the third deal.
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Thursday Blog Hopping!

I'm totally focused this week, ladies! If you want a visit, leave me a note. If you have a giveaway you want entries for, I'm on it. If you have a review that needs a comment leave a note. A twitter follower? I'm there! Just make sure you follow me back because I get aggravated and stop following people that don't return the love.

And BTW? HootSuite doesn't work.

Bassgiraffe's Thoughts Thursday Blog Hop

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Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Seven things I didn't know about vacation.

Is that they are infinitely more work than they sound.

For instance, I spent about a week packing for every conceivable circumstance, shopping, sorting summer clothes, and just generally getting ready. While I did all this, some of my daily chores fell by the wayside, laundry fell behind, and the floors did not get mopped.

A dozen blog comments showed up, new people to follow back, new products came to review.

Meanwhile, I had to keep up on my couponing. I now have a three ring binder the size of my toddler filled with coupons, and it's almost-not-quite-three-quarters-of-the-way organized. I'm thrilled with that progress, to be sure.

So, what they don't tell you about vacations:

1) They are a lot of work. We've covered that.

2) They don't have to cost an arm and a leg. If you get a place with a stove, eating is no more expensive than it is at home

3) Your kids will learn to say things that you never thought would come out of their mouths. For instance, the baby has been walking around the house randomly demanding chocolate. I may have gone a little soft on my usual Nazi-like diet restrictions, but she's taken to calling EVERYTHING chocolate. *shaking my head*

4) You children will expect portions of your vacation to come home. The middle one wants me to put in a hospitality room. For those of you who've never had the joy of going to a convention, a hospitality room has every kind of grown up drink you've ever heard of, and a goodly array of snacks, candy and sodas. About halfway through the trip, I found out that MissAngelLittleGirl was bootlegging candy into the hotel room and hiding it under the bed. She gets points for being brilliant.

5) Give the kids time to rest. As much fun as it is to go out all the time, the kids will do better with time to play and just be kids and get plenty of rest.

6) Find free stuff to do. We were NOT at the hotel much at all, and I didn't spend a dime on activities. We went to the local and very cool playground, to the free beach, up and down the boardwalk, and my dad knew of a donation only zoo (pics to follow) that was totally awesome. My dad made the donation, so I'm not sure how much that was, but I DO know that it's WAY WAY WAY cheaper than paying fifteen or twenty bucks a head to go to the Philadelphia zoo. It was every bit as nice, too.

7) Buy souvenirs at the dollar store. I made a mistake on this one. LittleAngelGirl had one deep and heart-wrenching desire: to find starfish for everyone she's ever met ever. Needless to say that didn't happen. On the last day, I ducked into a shop on the boardwalk to get her at least ONE, and had to buy a basket of shells. I spent four dollars, and could've got the same thing at the dollar store.

We really did have the best time, and I'm fairly sure I can afford to do the same thing again in the off season. This is VERY good news.
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Saturday, May 7, 2011

So, we're at the beach....


Sponsored by Tomoson.com
Do you know what's even BETTER than your first time at the beach?

Your first time at the beach with kids. I'm just having a blast. The boardwalk is the most amazing thing in the universe. The sand...the sand is just the most brilliant thing in the history of the world, and none of it came home with me thanks to SAND GONE.

Sand Gone is a smooth, coconut scented powder with a buffing sponge that dries and removes sticky sand from your skin quickly and with minimal effort. You simply dip the enclosed puff in the powder puff and buff away the sand. leaving skin nice and soft. It worked really well and smells fantastic. I'm just glad I remembered to pack it so I could try it at the beach!

Where to get it:
Sand Gone is available here.

But you can win it right here! Sand Gone is giving one of my readers a nice, chunky sample.
To win, you must be an 18 year old resident of the US, and a public gfc follower of my blog.
Mandatory Entry:
Like my Facebook page, up and to the left, and leave your facebook name. 2 entries
Extra entries: follow me on twitter, @lovinangels, and leave your twitter handle. 2 entries.
Promote this or any other of my blog's giveaways, in any way, shape, or form: 5 entries. You can share on facebook, tweet, stumble or blog it, once per day.

Giveaway ends 5/21/11 at midnight. I need a way to get a hold of you, so leave your email, twitter handle, facebook name, cafemom screen name, or whatever makes you happy. Winner must respond with mailing address within forty eight hours or I will pick a new winner.
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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com created by WebBizIdeas a Minneapolis SEO and Web Design firm. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveaway Disclosure.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Another great tropical traditions product!

I'm sitting in a hotel room, down at Wildwood, New Jersey. The baby crashed, hard, at 8 pm last night after a LONG afternoon of playing and walking on the boardwalk. So, she made up for her early bed time by getting up at 4 am. The sun is peaking over the horizon, now as I'm typing this, and we are going to get out again and see what trouble we can get into. But first, we are having the coconut, banana and chocolate chip loaf I made before we left with the HUGE bucket of coconut chips tropical traditions sent me.

I just love their products.

I'm not going to detail out the recipe right here, right now, as my vision is blurry from lack of sleep, but it's a pretty simple idea.

Add two cups of chocolate chips and two cups of delicious Tropical Traditions coconut chips to your fave banana bread recipe. Divide into pans (One more pan than the original recipe calls for) and bake.

Yummy yum yum. It's so good! Yes, I am cheap enough that I baked breakfast bread to take with us so that we didn't have to buy breakfast. It works.

I know you are just DYING to know where to get these thick cut, organic, delicious coconut chips, right? Well, you got to the tropical traditions website, of course! The course coconut chips would really be wonderful in granola. I think I'll make some when we get home- but for right now, Tropical Traditions is offering one lucky reader a huge two pound bucket of coconut chips for a giveaway!

Woohoo! How are you going to win this?

Enter one comment below for EACH ENTRY:
Mandatory entries: (2 Comments) Be a PUBLIC GFC follower of my blog, AND in a separate comment, subscribe to Tropical Traditions newsletter.
Extra entries:
Like me on facebook: up and to the left of the blog post. (2 entries)
Follow me on twitter(2 entries)
Follow Tropical Traditions on twitter. (5 entries)
Tweet, stumble, or facebook the giveaway. (Up to 3 entries daily)

You must be 18 or older, resident of the US to win. Giveaway ends 5/20/11. I have to be able to get a hold of you, so leave me some method of communication, please!

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Disclaimer: I received a free product to review, and I only recommend products I like. I was under no obligation to write anything.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

What's going on in my blogland...

Ladies and gentlemen, the world is a semi-stressful, busy place.

And I have found a place that I am truly sensitive-assault on my character. You want to find a way under my skin? Call me dishonest. Call me lazy. Allude to me not being the single most upstanding individual you've ever had the fortune to meet.

I can't handle it.

Whether it's a question on my use of a grocery coupon, or a (highly undeserved) disparaging moment at work- call into question the fiber of my integrity, and you will have me seething for more time than I should devote to anything.

And I'm putting a mental end to the trauma. It's flat out impossible to go through life un-criticized. There are going to be people who don't agree with me. Who don't understand where I'm coming from. What I am going to do, is do the best job I can explaining myself in the future, and let the chips fall where they may.

So I'm dropping this off here on the internet where I can forever face consequences for running my mouth and moving on.

Here's what's coming up at (the very honest and hardworking) Casa de Angels:

A sand gone review and giveaway. Sand Gone is a soft, coconut scented puffing powder that helps remove sand after the beach or sand box. I'm going to give this one a shot in the next couple of days (at the beach!!!!) and have it up and running next week!

Another Tropical Traditions review and giveaway! Tropical Traditions sent me the biggest container of shredded coconut chips you've ever seen in your entire life, and they've got one for a lucky reader as well. I'm loving the texture of this organic, unsweetened coconut, which is the thickest cut I've ever seen. This should go up when I get back.

My Mixbook has shipped. I just got the email that it's on its way. Unfortunately no giveaway with that one, but the website is VERY COOL and super easy to work with. They are also running a discount code TOMOSON20 to get 20 percent off your order.

And I just got approved for some Granite counter top cleaner. Yes, that means I will be making an appearance at an in-law's near me for some free scrubbing. All for the joy of writing.

What's going on in your blogland this week?

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Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Restaurant.com deal

Use code "MOM" at checkout to get a $25 gift card for $2. 80% off!

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Monday, May 2, 2011

Today's CVS trip.


Okay, I did this in two trips, but I kind of messed it up. I meant to buy the ALL detergent in the first trip, so I could use the extra buck on the second trip, but I put the coupon in the wrong pile. So I have an extra dollar off coupon for the next trip.

I spent just under $33 dollars...
and I got:
2 bottles of Old Spice Body wash (3.99 + BOGO coupon)
2 packages of BIC Soleil razors (Buy one get one 50 percent off, 2 $3 off coupons)
1 Pantene Shampoo (2 for 7- $3 off two - $1 extra buck)
1 Pantene Conditioner
1 bottle of All detergent (4.99- $1 coupon -$1 Extra buck)
2 bottles of Dawn dish detergent-on a side n.ote, they now have Dawn hand soap and it looks exactly the same as the dish soap. ($.99 each- 20 cents off)
1 tube of Colgate max fresh tooth paste (2.77- .35 coupon-2.77 extra care bucks)
10 Sobe lifewater drinks (I would not normally look twice at these but I have a road trip coming up next week.) (on sale for $1.00 each, minus two 1.50 coupons)
4 Covergirl eye shadows. (buy one get one 50% off, minus 2-$2.50 off 2)

So, what do you think of these deals?





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Sunday, May 1, 2011

Did you get a Sunday Paper?

If you didn't get one this week, I urge you to run out and get one. This weeks has a Pepsi/Tostitos insert, and several stores are doing yummy promotions to tie in. I'll post my deals later on in the week, but you can't get the deals if you don't have the coupons!

If you want me to follow you back/return a visit, leave a comment. I have a comment love system that I use. If you type, come see me! Or some such form like nonsense, I'll return the same favor. If it appears you actually read something I wrote, I poke around and leave extra love.
I have a strong dislike for form like, self promoting comments. I don't know why. It could be because I actually put work into this thing, and I know you do, as well.

Have a great week!

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