Do you like to bowl?

Join AMF's e-club and get a free gift for joining, a gift on your birthday and special offers for bowling!

http://www.amf.com/

PS, my free gift for joining was a coupon for 1 free game for every paid game of bowling for up to 10 people!

Make money online

Upon the suggestion of the person behind a GREAT blog I follow, Cheap By Choice, I joined Inbox Dollars. You can make money online, not a lot, but hey, if you're just sitting around bored online, you might as well make some money, lol. A lot of it is by taking surveys, sure beats those myspace and email surveys that don't pay anything. I like the program, check it out, here's a link:

Product Review: Dove Volume Therapy

I have very fine hair and have tried just about every supposedly volume-building shampoo and conditioner on the market, I finally found one that works. I recommend this product to anyone struggling with fine/thin hair. It left my hair weightless and bouncy. Best thing is that there are constantly coupons in the paper and at the website, www.dove.com

Enjoy!

CVS and Walgreens deals this week!

For those of you who play The Grocery Game (http://thegrocerygame.com) you know that there are no new lists this week, however there is an excellent blog where you can find them, www.thethriftymama.com. Check it out!

Military and Sea World

Hey military members and families, only a few more days to take advantage of your free 2008 Sea World admission. Visit www.herosalute.com for more info. (this also applies to other Anheuser-Busch theme parks, kudos to them for being so supportive of our troops!

SoCal Weddings

My friend Deanna just opened up her wedding business. She did a beautiful job planning her own wedding and I know that anyone who has her assistance in planning their wedding will be a lucky couple! If you know anyone planning a wedding in Southern California, check her out, http://www.weddingsbydeanna.com/

Drugstore.com sales

Drugstore.com is having a super sale. 70% off clearance, free shipping (orders over $25), free gifts with purchase AND 5% cash back! Check it out!

Merry Christmas and photo deals!

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you are enjoying your day with the ones who matter most to you.

Now for the photo deals:
Walgreens is offering 10 cent 4x6 prints from their website with the code REASON. The catch is that you have to order 50 or more. Good through 12/27.

CVS has a better deal, 10 cent prints (any amount) through 1/1/09. No code needed, just order online, choose pick up in hours, and get all your 4x6 prints for 10 cents each. Now I'm off to order prints!!

Oh, I hear tomorrow (day after Christmas) is another crazy mad shopping deal day so if you brave it, good luck!

Got missing money out there?

Claim it! Unfortunately I did not have any but I did find some for people I know!

Go to www.missingmoney.com to see if you have any unclaimed funds from old utility deposits, forgotten bank accounts, undeliverable tax refunds etc.

Need a laugh?

I got this chain email from a friend (thanks Theresa). I usually don't read chain emails but this one is very funny and worth it. I think I have seen it before but it doesn't matter, it got just as many laughs this time. Enjoy!


To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice!

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks . Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

5. In the Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write ' For Marijuana.

6. Skip down the hall Rather Than Walk and see how many looks you get.

7. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

8. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is 'To Go'.

9. Sing Along At The Opera.

10. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You have a headache.

11. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream 'I Won! I Won!'

12. When Leaving the Zoo, Start Running towards the Parking lot, Yelling 'Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!'

13. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, 'Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go.'

And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity
14. PICK UP A BOX OF CONDOMS AT THE PHARMACY, GO TO THE COUNTER AND ASK WHERE THE FITTING ROOM IS.

Send This E-mail To Someone To Make Them Smile. It's Called.... THERAPY

Save $20 on orders of $50 or more at CVS.com

Just sign in, fill your cart with $50 worth of non-prescription items and save $10 automatically (savings will appear in your cart) then use code MASTERCARD10 and pay with a Mastercard and you will save another $10.

Free 5x7 or 8x10 photo print at CVS

I just picked up my free 8x10 from Walgreens today, now I get to order one from CVS. Yay! Just enter the code ENLARGE at checkout. (online, http://www.cvs.com/) Expires 12/24

FYI, CVS has a surcharge of $1.49 on all photo orders less than $5 that you pick up in-store, it is cheaper to have the photo shipped if all you are ordering is a free print. I got my 8x10 shipped for 99 cents. Have it shipped to the grandparents or family as a nice little surprise!

Got a gamer in your life?

Game Crazy is offering buy 2 get 1 free on all used games. Not a bad deal if you know someone who likes video games. Be sure to call your local store to make sure the deal is happening in your region. No codes or coupons necessary. Expires 12/25.

Hey Bank of America customers.....

Did you know that you can get free admission to over 70 museums around the country the first weekend of every month with your Bank of America card? These include the "fancy" ones like the Birch Aquarium in San Diego and the Bronx Zoo and Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

To find the museums near you that you can visit for free go to:
promotions.bankofamerica.com/museums

Have fun! I may have to open a BofA account now!

Free 8x10 photo print at Walgreens

No purchase necessary. Order online and enter code FREEGIFT at checkout through Dec. 20, 2008.

www.walgreens.com

New Year's Resolution

Today I am pledging to do something each week that makes me a better person than I was the week before and record it in a journal. I was aiming for each day but that may be too ambitious when recording it becomes part of the pledge.

Military Appreciation at Boomers!

Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until Dec. 21 (okay so only one weekend left on this).

Free unlimited play wristband for active duty (by presenting valid active ID). Family and friends can puchase a wristband for a discounted price of $15.99 up to 6 people. There are locations in San Diego, El Cajon and Vista.

My favorite quote....

is a very famous one by Ghandi, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." I try to remember that whenever I get mad at random people, really I wish people would treat others with respect all the time, but I guess that should start with me.

As they say in the military...."Lead from the front."

There's one to live by!

Teaching kids to help others.

I thought this was a cute idea, it not only teaches kids to re-use and be mindful of consumption, but also about helping others. Once done you can hang the hands on a string and try to do one each day, or each week or month if you want the giving to go beyond Christmas.

I truly believe if you teach your kids to enjoy the great feeling achieved by helping others, they will want to continue that through their lives.

"Cut out your child's handprint from card fronts of Christmas cards. On the back of each hand write a kind act your family can do for others."
~Helen Coronado, author of Eco-Friendly Families. Source: Woman's Day Magazine vol. 72 Issue 3

Line cutters and India.Arie

We finally got our lights up last night. Yay! We had to take one strand of LED lights back to Wal-mart because only one half of it worked but other than that it was great.

While I was getting my "return sticker" from the return guy at wal-mart (he stops you before getting in line and gives you a yellow sticker if you are returning something) this rude lady and her (grown) son walked around me and got in line with their item. Then when I get in line (after the cutters) she yells at the man to give her a sticker. Some people. I was kind of mad, it ruined my mood and I had to leave the store. I didn't think it was worthy of making a scene though.

On the way over to Michael's after that I listened to "Better People" by India.Arie and it made me feel better and put things into perspective for me. I felt great by the time I entered Michael's so thanks India.Arie for putting music out that can help us remember what is really important and what we should let roll off our shoulders. It is especially helpful during this time of holiday shopping madness (and rudeness).

The Holiday Project

Enrich your life and someone elses this Christmas!

Info from The National Holiday Project website:

The Holiday Project's mission is to enrich the experience of the holidays by arranging visits to people confined to nursing homes, hospitals and other institutions

Each year, more than
three million people spend their holidays confined to institutions, 60% never receive visitors.

This is a nationwide program, to find a group near you visit http://www.holiday-project.org/

Product Review: Tyson Quesadilla kit

So convenience costs money, this I know. Sometimes I buy those "dinner kits" for the days I have to work. It is still cheaper than going out to eat and much easier than cooking a full on meal.

Here's what I thought of this product: Average.

The quesadillas tasted good but like most of these products, there was not enough "filler" for the quesadillas. It was supposed to make 6 but there was only enough chicken and veggies for 4. The fifth one I filled with the excess cheese from the kit and the 6th one I put honey and jam in for dessert.

All in all I would buy this product again but I was still a little disappointed by the amount of chicken and veggies. Sorry for the lack of "after" pictures, my camera battery went dead while they were cooking.

Betty Crocker Coupons

$12 in coupons on popular brands from BettyCrocker.com

http://www.bettycrocker.com/coupons-promotions/coupons/default.aspx?WT.dcsvid=Mzc5Mzg0Mzk3MwS2&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_BettyCrocker_12_04_2008

Free Arby's Mint Shake

Go to www.arbys.com and sign up for Arby's extras and they will send you (email) a coupon for a free mint shake. You get your coupon within 24 hours.

Chuck E. Cheese offer

Print, have your kids color, and take this activity page into Chuck E. Cheese for 12 free tokens (valid til Dec. 24, 2008)

http://email.chuckecheese.com/static/chuckecheese/549380/Colorpage.pdf?roi=echo4-4399876202-3812129-8091269f97a4c7bad12fc6b5f5cffdc7&

My pasta storage solution....

Here's what I did to store my pasta. If you know me, you know how much I love pasta so I keep a ton of it in the house! Now with whole grain pasta I am losing some of the guilt so my pasta addiction is even worse. I have more pasta than this that I am trying to find matching containers for! The downside to keeping your pasta on top of the cupboards? Climbing up there every time you want to use it! Its a pretty funny site, me balancing on the sink trying to pull down a container or pasta. It saves me tons of space though. If you don't have cabinets with space at the top, you can store it on top of the fridge.

Recipe Review: Stovetop Easy Chicken Bake

Link to recipe: http://brands.kraftfoods.com/stovetop/ (click on hearty meals)

Occasionally I will try new recipes. When I do I will do my best to post them here and let you all know how they turn out so if they are great, maybe you will want to try them.

This recipe was surprisingly good although I put my own twist on it. I used more veggies. I used a 16 oz bag of frozen cauliflower (my favorite veggie) and a 12 oz bag of mixed carrots, green beans and corn. I am glad I did because it was great.

One warning, I pulled the casserole out of the oven at 30 minutes as directed and looked at the chicken, it was still practically raw. So I cooked it for an extra 30 minutes and it came out perfect. Just make sure you look under all that stuffing and make sure your chicken is cooked!

I am including a few pictures, one before the casserole went in the oven (2nd pic) and one when it was done (1st pic).

KMart Super Double Coupons

According to the Kmart ad insert in this Sunday's North County Times, Kmart is doubling coupons up to and including $2. This can mean some great deals for you coupon cutters out there. They reserve the right to cancel or modify the program at any time and I am not sure if it is country-wide or limited to San Diego County so I recommend calling the store to verify their coupon policy before you head out with your coupon organizer!

Good luck!
Visit www.kmart.com to look up your local store and find their telephone number.

Making crafts from Recyclables!

I found a great website with tons of crafts you can make out of recyclable/reusable materials in your home. Check it out! I especially like the tote made of plastic shopping bags.

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/recycling-crafts/index.shtml#bottles

Cyber Monday Deals - Thats today folks!

Well today is supposed to be the "black friday" of online sales.

Here are a few deals that I found:

CVS is having a great online sale, up to 85% off. www.cvs.com
Today only, 12am-midnight
Free standard shipping on orders of $49 or more
PLUS save $10 automatically when you sign in and purchase $50 or more in items then save ANOTHER $10 when you use coupon code MASTERCARD at checkout then use your mastercard to pay.
Thats $50 in items for $30 and free shipping. Not too shabby.
Oh, and you earn triple extra bucks on all online orders through Dec. 6.

A link to Staples Cyber Monday deals: http://www.staples.com/sbd/cre/products/081130/merch021941/index.html?cm_mmc=sbd_acq-_-product_120108-_-delivery_inactives_24+_con-_-num&cm_lm=ex:pinksadity@aol.com

Fashion Bug is offering free shipping today along with holiday sale prices.
www.fashionbug.com

Shutterfly.com is offering up to 50% off holiday photo gifts and free shipping on orders of $25 or more, til Dec. 3.

Overstock.com is offering 15% cash back when you pay using paypal.

For even more deals visit www.cybermonday.com

Happy shopping! No crowds or parking lot hassles!