Sunday, November 30, 2008

Cool sight in the sky....

So I hear that Jupiter, Venus and the moon will be close together and look pretty cool from Earth tomorrow night (Dec. 1) so if you look in the sky and see the planets shining down on you (looking more like big bright stars) thats Jupiter and Venus. Awesome.

Please Consider Rescue


Looking for a dog or cat? Please consider rescue. Check out http://www.petfinder.com/, a site that is responsible for connecting so many available rescue dogs (and cats) to loving homes. You can search by location, size, age, breed, or all of the above to find the pet that is perfect for you. Please help give a dog or cat a second chance without putting money in the pockets of breeders or pet stores which encourages them to make more of already over-populated species. Instead, when you pay an adoption fee to a rescue or shelter, the money goes right back into their efforts to save more worthy animals. I got my own perfect pet Roscoe (see pic) from an animal shelter. I couldn't ask for a better dog.

Good time to clean out the pantry

Thanksgiving just passed, Christmas is coming. Its a good time to clean out your pantry and help those in need. With the economy in trouble and many losing their jobs, more and more families are signing up for food, and the food banks around the country are struggling to keep up.

Help make Christmas brighter for someone and get that unwanted food out of your pantry at the same time. I just cleaned mine and I am taking the donations to the grocery store today!

To find a food bank near you visit www.feedingamerica.org and enter your zip code in their "food bank locator"

Lets all remember what is really important this holiday season (believe it or not, it is NOT black friday deals) and help our neighbors.

MCRD San Diego, T-shirt Design Contest

For all you graphic design guru's out there.

From mccsmcrd.com

SUPER BOWL PARTY T-SHIRT DESIGN CONTEST
.. Released: 10.29.08
.. Transmission broadcast from: MCRD San Diego

WHEN WHERE AND WHAT TIME
.. Now - 12.12.08
.. MCRD San Diego
.. Online voting begins 12.17.08 - 01.16.09
RESTRICTIONS
.. Open to all eligible patrons (active duty, reservists, retirees, DoD and their dependants)
.. Must be 13+ to submit a design
.. Submit your original art as a .jpg attachment to: mccsmcrd7@yahoo.com
.. Final winner determined by online voting




MCRD San Diego is holding their first ever "Super Bowl Party" t-shirt design contest. Where you're the designer and everyone else is the judge. Contestants will create a design that embodies the spirit of MCRD and troop appreciation.

The winner will be determined by online voting. Prove what it takes to outdesign the designers. Why do it you ask? Because we think fostering in-house creativity is a building block to bigger things.

The winner gets a $50.00 gift card to the MCXchange and their design printed on all the t-shirts being given away at the Super Bowl party. The vanity prone get to see it on the shirts at the gym. Serious types get some street cred for their portfolio.

OFFICIAL RULES
T-shirt must have the following elements included in the design:
Event name [ You come up with the name, be creative ]
The date, February 1, 2009
It has to say "MCRD, San Diego" on it somewhere
It has to say "Troop Appreciation" on it somewhere
MORE RULES
All artwork must be in JPG format. [ No other formats are acceptable ]
Send art as an attachment to: mccsmcrd7@yahoo.com
All artwork must be in digital format
Don't send us paper art or Crayola drawings
If you need to get something digitized go to your local copy shop or your friends house and scan it
Confine the design to a 15" x 20" (38cm x 50cm) area
Make sure it's at least 150 dpi
Limit your colors to six. Trust us, this is still a whole lotta color. Just check out the sample below if you don't believe us.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Why I recycle.

Do you recycle? Why or why not?

Yes, I recycle everything I can, from water bottles right down to the cardboard rolls in my toilet paper. I do it because I think it is important for each of us to take personal responsibility for what we consume and how we dispose of it, and I love my country and don't want to see her landfills take up more and more of this beautiful land.

Do you teach your kids about recycling and reducing their footprint on the earth?

I don't have kids but I am trying to teach my husband and the children in our family.

What kind of stuff do you reuse? How do you reuse it?

I reuse containers (plastic ones like butter and sour cream) to hold leftovers, then I wash and recycle them. I re-use paper from work that is to be thrown out - usually has but a speck of ink on one side, so I bring it home and use it to print out assignments and such for an online class. I reuse cardboard and cardboard boxes for shipping and art projects. Oh and a no brainer, I use canvas bags when I shop.

What kind of stuff do you buy that you feel reduces the amount of overall waste from your household?

I buy the concentrated soaps and laundry detergent, I buy water by the gallon or use my Brita pitcher instead of small bottles, I try to buy the product with the least amount of excessive packaging when faced with a cost-effective choice. I hope someone has more ideas because I would like to reduce further.

Why do you feel it is important or not important to reduce, reuse and recycle?

Personal responsibility is big for me. I think I need to be responsible for the trash that comes out of my house, and it is not someone elses responsiblity to sort it for me. I am responsible for the footprint I leave on the earth and whether or not I leave it better or worse (even if just a little) for the children in my family and yours.

Go Sam's Club

Sam's Club is hosting 3 military appreciation days, Nov. 17, Dec. 1 & Dec. 15, military with proper ID can go in and do their shopping these days even if they aren't members. They will also waive their 10% non-member service fee on those days. (During regular club hours).

Check it out. I love to see big business doing something to show appreciation for those who protect this country and the capitalist society here which allows them to prosper.

Make money on those old books

So I visited www.cash4books.net, they buy old books. Might as well make some money on them. All you need is the book's ISBN. I tried several books but out of about 5, they were only buying one. They offered me $2.49 for it (I think it was Dog Training for Dummies). I decided to keep the book but I know where to go if I need some cash for my books. As for the books they are not buying right now, I recommend either holding onto them and trying again at another time or donating them to your local library.

Nov. 10 - Birthday number 233!

Happy Birthday Marines. I just want you to know how proud I am that you are America's Marines. I love you all and am so grateful to you for keeping me safe. You are a blessing to this country, all of you brave men and women willing to stand up for something greater than yourselves. Not everyone has that kind of courage. I am in awe of all of you.

Free Sample Sites

I really love the ones that post stuff that is truly free, no catch but so many of these truly free deals are lost amidst the "sign up and complete these requirements and we will consider sending you a free sample of something you really didn't need in the first place" offers. I'm sick of it.

I have found a couple great sites, one of them being "Hey, Its Free"
They send great free sample offers to my inbox daily so I don't even have to do extra work to find them. The offers are generally quality and catch free. If you decide to check them out make sure you take a look at their "free birthday meals".......so many restaurants will give you a free dessert, appetizer or meal during the week of your birthday and/or just for signing up for their E-club. Awesome right?

Judging others

So I was just thinking........uh oh watch out, another random thought! Anyway, it seems like everywhere I go (on or off the net) people are constantly judging other people for what they look like, wear, how they talk, i.e. little petty stuff. I know we are all guilty of this to a certain extent but I also know that when I catch myself doing it I feel like a big huge ball of ignorance, and when I see other people doing it, I try to stay away from them. I mean, who am I do judge someone for what they look like, what they wear, how they talk? I wear sweats and PJ's most of the time, and I am super nerdy/corny. Love it or leave it right? We all have our hang-ups.

I have learned to ask myself 3 questions when I catch myself pre-judging someone I don't know:

1. Do I have any clue why this person looks/talks/or acts the way they do? Do I know their background?

2. What am I getting out of this? Does it make me feel better to put someone else down? (nope, it makes me feel worse, actually)

3. Who the heck am I? Just another soul wandering the universe, I have no right to judge.

Now when it comes to serious stuff, I may throw my 2 cents in if I think it will be constructive, but if a person is not hurting anyone and I am spending time judging them, it must be time to get another hobby or find some other way to keep myself busy.

Maybe instead of judging people we should all think about what we can do to put a smile on that persons face, if only for a minute. Who knows, might be the only time they smile all day, and I bet it will make you smile too =).

Chew on that.

Springing for the good stuff.

So I'm not real particular about what kind of dental floss I use, I just buy whatever. Well I was at the dollar store and they had a few different kinds. I decided to buy a brand called Butler because it had about twice as much in it for the same price. This stuff is thin, its like flossing my teeth with sewing thread. ugh. Next time I'll spring for the good stuff. Why am I so cheap? lol.

Telemarketers on my cell phone?

So I get a call today with a recording asking me to extend my car warranty......

I press number 2 to speak to an operater because we are on the do not call list.

Him: Hello would you like to extend your car warranty today?

Me: No, I would like to know what company this is please.

Him: click - yep he hung right up on me.

I need caller ID.

Have you made the switch?

....to re-usable grocery bags that is.I switched and I love it.Here's why:

1. It is important to me to reduce, reuse and recycle. I don't take our resources for granted and I respect our land enough not to want to fill it with trash if I can avoid it.

2.They hold so much more, what used to take 10-12 plastic bags now takes 3-4 "green bags"

3.They are multi-purpose, I can use them just about anytime I need a good canvas bag, the beach, road trips, you name it!

4. They are cheap, I get mine at the commissary for 70 cents, most places have them for a dollar or less. For me it was too easy a switch not to make and it is so good not to have to mess with those flimsy plastic bags anymore.

Every once in awhile I will buy more than I can fit in my green bags, those times I will usually grab one or two plastic bags as well and reuse them in the bathroom wastebaskets.

Military deals & discounts

I just wanted to take another moment to let you all know that I will also be posting about various deals I find for our military, so if you are military and like saving money, you may also enjoy this page!

Here we go!

Welcome to my new blog! I love couponing, finding deals, recycling and inspiring others (or at least trying to) to live a simple, fulfilling life like I try to do every day. It is very rewarding! Serving others is a passion of mine, living green is another passion and not to mention living cheap! We all like to save money right? Well lets try to do it together. I hope my blog will one day prove worthy of your bookmark =)