Tropical Traditions Organic Raw Honey Review and Giveaway

I've turned into quite the Tropical Traditions junkie. They really have the best products around, and I love the ethics of the company. This time they sent me for review, a jar of organic raw honey.

What else can I say, but YUM! Their products never disappoint, and this honey was no exception. I have no shortage of high quality honey, as there is a local beekeeper close to family and I get special delivery. Yes, I'm spoiled, I know.

I was surprised that raw honey has a creamy, and very opaque consistency, almost like soft butter. It was an excellent taste, spreadable and neat, because it hasn't been exposed to heat. They warm it up just enough to get it flowing, the same temperature it's kept at in the hive, so you are really getting all the nutrients that come with eating honey.

Certifying honey as organic is no small feat, either. They have to place the bees miles away from the congestion of cities, and keep an entire four mile radius of the hive's location organic. I also learned that bee's instincts keep them with in four miles of their home. So much knowledge! Read more...and get some...here!

What I did with it:

Using honey really isn't rocket science. You can use this wonderful, organic, raw honey in anyway you would use regular honey, although it really is outstanding when you don't heat it up. I ate it on warm, homemade crumpets and in iced green tea.

Tropical Traditions is giving away a bottle right here:

As usual, to win, please sign up for their email letter, and leave a comment here telling me you did. I need to be able to get a hold of you, so please make sure your email address is available on your blogger profile, or leave me another way to contact you.

Five Extra entries, Leave a comment for each:

Follow Tropical Traditions on Twitter

For two extra entries, Leave a comment for each:

Follow me on twitter

You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US to win. Sweepstakes ends on July 15th at midnight.



I received a sample from Tropical Traditions for review, however, I only recommend products I like. All claims are mine, mine alone, and your results may vary.

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.

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.



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

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

Free Candy Deal at Walgreens

Buy 2 Starburst Jelly Bean Eggs $0.75 each
Use $0.50/2 – Skittles or Starburst candy – (smartsource.com)printable

And Use $1.00/2 Skittles, Starburst, Life Savers or Hubba Bubba Easter Item Walgreens April Booklet
Final Price: Free

Thanks Cindy for the deal idea!

Great deals at CVS today!

I got all this for $4.24 today!

Here's how.
From CVS circular- $1.66 each: Kellogg's Rice Krispies, Corn Flakes, Raisin Bran.
From Kellogg's.com $.70 off one raisin bran, printed two. $1.00 off two Rice Krispies, Printed one. Limit 4 per customer.

Choose any candy bar or beverage for FREE up to $2 by going here.

They were nice enough to give me two four dollar off twenty coupons as I checked out...I foresee stopping back to pick up Easter basket fixings tomorrow with a stack of coupons! Yay!

Cheap Diapers and Wipes Delivered to Your House.

Okay, I just signed up for this diaper service.

It's so cool. And I'm going to tell you right up front that I signed up for Amazon Affiliates, which means they are going to send me presents or money or more children or something if anyone clicks through the links and buys something.

That doesn't mean I'm going to be spamming you with ads, people. I get REALLY good deals on Amazon, partially because I joined Amazon mom.

This is big, people. Diapers. Shipped to your door. Free. For 30 percent off. I just got a case of munchkins from the UPS guy. For $13.39

I did not know that this existed. It's kind of Amazing. You get 15% off for subscribing, and another 15% off for subscribing to the diaper service. So that brings this Pampers Baby Dry Diapers Economy Pack Plus, Size 4, 192 Count to 16 cents a diaper. That's cheaper than the generics at Wegmans with a coupon. (18 cents a diaper)

I told you it was big, didn't I? Oh, yeah, and the shipping's free. And you can change your subscription at any time, no strings attached. You can choose to get diapers once a month, every two months, etc. You don't even have to get a second shipment to cancel.

Okay, so it's beyond big. It's totally huge! Happy Parenting!



Heather (Lovinangels) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com

Pennsylvania is robbing me blind. Probably you, too.

We went to buy new tires yesterday. After a long, hard decision process, we're going to stay with a smaller car for a couple more years.

And used tires really weren't working out for us.

So, I don't know about you, but when I go to make a purchase, I have a rough idea when I get to the register how much my bill will be.

Usually within a couple of cents.

A couple things worth mentioning: We were in Walmart, and the lady who wrung up our tires was remarkably nice, polite, AND competent. I probably should have proceeded directly to the lottery vending machine and bought out every ticket they had. But I digress, I had entered the pits of hell (Walmart) in order to purchase tires and had succeeded admirably.

The cashier's fingers moved with an unforeseeable quickness-and the bill was roughly fifteen dollars more than I expected it to be.

I geared up for a fight. Not just any fight. A Walmart fight. You know, the fight you have to have where the dingbat behind the counter who doesn't give a crap about their job, the economy, or the fact that they are robbing you blind. That kind of fight. To be fair, it can happen in any store, but Walmart is what it is.

My husband is a smart man. He sensed the pending storm and glanced at the work order and asked for an explanation.

The girl actually knew what she was talking about. I can't get over it. There was a tire disposal fee. I hadn't figured that in. It's robbery, but it's okay. Then, there was the tax. I'd forgotten it. Ten dollars, straight to the good ole boys in Harrisburg. That's cool.

And then there was this...

PA tire fee. $1.00. (per tire!!!!!)

PA actually gets a buck a tire. Just so they can have a dollar. This is kind of amazing to me. They GOT MONEY. Almost 11 dollars, just because I bought something! That's a reasonable amount of money, right?

No. They get a buck a tire. Just for being PA. I'll probably go to Jersey to buy tires next time. Provided they don't charge a buck a tire.

They want HOW MUCH for this thing?

I learned a valuable lesson, today. When you sign up to do a review, make sure that you are compatible with the company. Meaning, in my case, make sure you can't do for free what they are charging forty dollars for. Forty dollars.

I didn't do that. And so I signed up through Tomoson to review an online gardening planner from groOrganic.com. It seemed to be a perfect fit on first glance, gardening, check, organic, check, planning, check. Yep. That's me! Perfect fit, right?

Wrong. They charge forty dollars for one year.

Forty Dollars. For one year, and I spent a bit of time wondering WHY anyone would pay forty dollars for this?

Because not everyone is me, that's why.

I'm the type of person who will put an extra couple of hours of labor into something to save a couple of dollars. I would spend several hours researching all my garden stuff, get it all in a row, draw out a quick diagram, commit it to memory, and plant.

This approach has yielded me several tons of tomatoes and more zuccini than you can possibly imagine. I've had a smattering of peppers and corn, and more arugula than you've ever seen in a grocery store. Recalling my days as a restaurant manager, I love to mentally weigh out each bit and then divide the cost of my garden to tell me how much I'm paying per pound, which I then go ahead and translate into savings. It's my own special little savings game.

And then I pat myself on the back and tell everyone how wonderful I am. Clearly, I have modesty issues.

I've also had some gardening disasters worth a what not to do video on youtube. I've cried over aborting my baby corn plants- did you know 'thinning' means 'brutally yanking a perfectly healthy plant out of the ground and allowing it to die'? And then there are the carrots- in an effort NOT to murder all those sweet baby plants I didn't thin them out enough and they fused themselves into a mighty mutant power carrot the size of my head that ironically wound up in the trash can.

I obviously DO need the help, after all.

So let's talk about this website.

It's a truly fabulous design. The experience begins with a video tutorial on how to use the planner. It's laid out simply, the kids could easily help design the garden with it. There's a WEALTH of information at your fingertips- sun, soil types, when to plant, when to harvest, it's all right there-and part of your service is this great email reminder system. It reminds you WHEN to plant, shows you how many plants would be in a square foot range.

It works out crop rotation for next year, as well. This is a big deal, because certain plants really suck the nutrients out of the ground. So if you plant your corn every year in the same spot, eventually your harvest won't be what it once was, because your dirt has no more nutrients. This type of information would be invaluable to the novice gardener.

This is good stuff, people. Doing a garden right can mean the difference between a handful of peppers, and freezing bushels to last you all year.

So is it worth the forty dollars? Let's take a look!

This is a snappy shot of the information that is obtained about EACH plant. What kind of sun, soil, things it grows well next to...Fabulous.

This is a clip out of where I see my garden going, it's a small section, but you can really see a lot of what's going on. Along the top of the picture, there's a button for each letter. You click on that, and it brings up all the pictures of veggies and their little info button. You can click on those, and then drag them into your yard. You see that tree? That's the middle of my back yard. As of right now, it's shading some arugula from the harsh summer sun I can only dream about. (There's snow clinging to the ground right now.)

So is it worth forty dollars?

No. And yes.

Let me explain. No, let me sum up. (tee hee)

There are a couple of packages available. One, is a simple membership, which allows you full access to the garden planner. It's 39.99, and will send you emails and help you keep things organized, and is really quite something. If you are going to spring for a gardening book at some point, this is really a much better option.

I, on the other hand, have little to do besides bake bread, wait to plant things, and watch my babies grow. This isn't a great option for me.

And this is where I go totally non-me and say, Get the more expensive package. The next one up is a little more comprehensive. You get 12 packs of non-GMO seeds, the access to the planner, and a real, live gardening specialist will look at your plan. I didn't get to review the larger package, but to me, if you are going to spring for help with gardening, you might as well get all the bang for your buck. And non-GMO seeds are super expensive, I've seen them crest five bucks a pack. You also get a gardening manual, and other gifts and discounts throughout the year.

I like this better. I like the idea of kicking my ideas around with a real, live, person, and getting real, live feedback. 12 packs of seeds is more than I purchase in a year, so this covers a portion of the start up cost of the garden as well. I find a lot more value in the more expensive package, in the same way I'd sooner purchase the club pack of chicken breast at a smaller per pound price, I feel the larger package would be a better fit for me.

Where to buy:
You can check out the garden planner here The layout of the White House Garden! I was kind of enthralled with that.

There are whole really beautiful raised garden packages here. You've probably seen these on the Kardashians, and I know Tori Spelling is using them as well.

For the classroom

I'd like to thank groOrganic for letting me review their product. I enjoyed doing it.


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Rich Poor Food

My kids are sitting down to plates of leftovers right now. Steaming, huge plates of reheated lasagna, risotto, leftover veggies sauteed with garlic.

And they are HOUSING them. MissAngelLittleGirl is not really putting down her fork, except to pick up her wine glass, at the tiny bistro table I've set up for them.

Yes. Her wine glass. Because we are not having 'leftovers', we are EXPERIENCING a tour of Italy.

Yes, the popular Olive Garden dish. I've got grape juice in wine glasses, a fab assortment of dishes to sample, and three happy little girls.

Happy little angels= happy Mommy. Oh, and Garfield is showing- you can't have a fancy dinner without a show! And what better show, than a cat that loves lasagna!
I am a parenting genius (and a modest one!) Or, I have far too much time on my hands. But it brings me to another point.

You can do things one of two ways. You can stretch your grocery dollars by eating every bit of leftovers in the fridge....(Awwwww, Mooooooommmmmm, can't we have something else?) Or you can have a little fun with it... You can make a fabulous Vegas Buffet by layering objects under a tablecloth (like boxes or bowls turned upside down to create steps). Place the dishes of food on the steps...and honey, that's art.

You can have scrambled eggs for dinner because you're broke-or you can make a fabulous cheese souffle. The choice is up to you. But the attitude you do it with...that's what the kids reflect.

Oh, and by the way, leftovers usually suck because they get dry. You need to moisten them prior to heating. A bit of milk for lasagna, a bit of broth for risotto, a bit of gravy or broth or even water goes a long way.

Make sure they get heated to 165, and serve it with panache. Your kids won't know what hit them. It's all about the packaging, right?

What are your leftover tips?

Wordless Wednesday-How easy it is to make homemade bread.

Take your ingredients,

Mix it gently...it's kind of a shaggy mess.
Let it rest...
Make Pizza and bread, for less than a dollar!

Recipe for basic whole wheat bread from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

Don't trust your doctor-he's ripping you off.

Well, more appropriately, his office is. Or the hospital you are trusting with your life.

This is very true. It's called human error. And, since two or three people can have a hand in each medical bill you receive- that's two or three times the errors. I've seen the commercials where you can learn to "work from home" in the "exciting and fast paced medical field" while doing "medical billing."

That means you've got a good chance of having someone like ME-with three children crawling all over them-drawing up your bill while deciphering your doctor's chicken scratch.

 This is never good.

Case in point- I received a medical bill yesterday...it bore an electric orange sticker that said, "You have ten days to contact us or this bill will be sent to a collection agency." From my gyn. Addressed to my husband. The bill was for-wait for it- $145. I'm due to go see in her in February, haven't seen her since last February, and always pay my bill them immediately with our flexible spending account.

There were two charges for a single missed appointment that I'd canceled, and they charged me for a co-pay I'd paid them. I'm so glad they sent me that incredibly effed up piece of paper, because now I know they owe me five bucks. They even agreed they owed me five bucks. So I know I'm right.

This isn't the first time this has happened to me, though. Every bill I've ever gotten has had medical errors on it. I've been charged for prescriptions my doctor ordered, but I'd refused. Yes, I know I'm the only person on the planet that would refuse a Vicodin. But I do. I've been billed for it, though.

I've been billed eighty dollars for four Tylenol. Not even extra helpful Tylenol. Drug store Tylenol.  Four. These people have issues. Two many chefs, and all that.

It's almost worthwhile to keep a notebook with you and have someone document what they do and  what they give you. Because they sure as hell don't know.

So, go over your bill. Even if you have no intention of ever paying it. Because those mistakes still add to your debt. And don't be shy about questioning it. You aren't questioning your doctor-you are questioning a team of people who are human and weren't in the room.

You wouldn't go to a restaurant and pay for an extra beer. Why would you go to a hospital and pay for an extra pill?