Menu Plan Monday

This week, once again, we are eating primarily from our freezer stock as I am trying to clean out the deep freeze, so that we can defrost it. It's been quite a few years and it needs to be done. I went shopping today, to pick up a few odds and ends, like bread - Italian, Sandwich, Hamburger Buns and Hot Dog Buns, as well as some fruit and miscellaneous items. My total was under $10. It would have been more, but I realized that the Cuties were going to be on sale tomorrow and decided it was worth saving money to go back later this week.

At our house, the focus is on dinners. I tend to only list the main course and any standard side we have with it. We do still have vegetables and/or fruit with each of our dinners, I just don't always call them out.

Sunday
Cereal
Leftovers
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Monday
Chicken Patty Sandwiches

Tuesday
Macaroni & Cheese / Hot Dogs

Wednesday
Roasted Chicken

Thursday
Ravioli Lasagna

Friday
Pork Chops

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
Skyline

Weekdays breakfast is at daycare for my daughter, the rest of us eat cold cereal, frozen waffles, oatmeal, toast or whatever strikes our fancy. Lunch we pack, usually leftovers for me.

Check out other menu plans for the week at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

CVS Scenarios - week of 11/29

The deals seem a little sparse this week at CVS, but perhaps that is because of all of the three day sale items for free last week.

Transaction #1
2 - Gillette Deodorant
4 - Gillette Bodywash
1 - Gillette Shampoo

-$2 $2/2 Gillette Deodorant mfg coupon
-$1 Gillette Clinical Strength CVS coupon
-$2.99 Free Bodywash WYB Deodorant mfg coupon
-$2.99 Free Bodywash WYB Deodorant mfg coupon
-$1 Gillette Bodywash Mfg coupon
-$1 Gillette Bodywash Mfg coupon
-$1 Gillette Shampoo Mfg coupon

Total $14.45, earn $10 ECBs.

Transaction #2
3 - Benefiber Sticks
1 - Oral B Zooth Toothbrush

-$2 Benefiber IP (benefiber site)
-$2 Benefiber IP (benefiber site)
-$2 Benefiber IP (coupons.com)
-$3 Benefiber CRT
-$1 Oral B Mfg coupon

Total $14.06, pay with $10 ECB and $4.06 OOP. Earn $10 and $2 ECBs.

Transaction #3
2 - Irish Spring Bodywash
2 - Irish Spring Bar Soap (Free WYB Bodywash)

-$2 $2/2 Irish Spring Bodywash CRT
-$.75 Irish Spring Bodywash Mfg coupon
-$.30 Irish Spring Bar Soap Mfg coupon

Total $3.93, pay with $2 ECB and $1.93 OOP.

Total OOP $22.44 with $10 ECBs left to roll. Net cost $12.44 for $64.43 in merchandise, 81% savings.

For more deals and scenarios, check out Deal Seeking Mom, Money Saving Mom and the "Cent"sible Sawyer.

CVS $5 Scenario

Transaction #1
1 - Oral B Zooth Toothbrush

-$1 Oral B Mfg coupon

Total $1.49, earn $2 ECBs.

Transaction #2
2 - Irish Spring Bodywash
2 - Irish Spring Bar Soap (Free WYB Bodywash)

-$2 $2/2 Irish Spring Bodywash CRT
-$.75 Irish Spring Bodywash Mfg coupon
-$.30 Irish Spring Bar Soap Mfg coupon

Total $3.93, pay with $2 ECB and $1.93 OOP.

Total OOP $3.42 OOP for $16.45 in merchandise, 80% savings.

For more $5 Scenarios, check out the CVS $5 Challenge at Keeping the Kingdom First.

Black Friday

I did it, I joined the throngs of crazy people arising before the crack of dawn (some never went to bed I learned while standing in assorted lines) and hit the doorbuster sales on Friday.

I was able to get some great deals, but mostly it was the thrill of the hunt and the nostalgia of Black Friday's gone by that kept me standing in the ridiculous lines. I stood outside in the rain (and occassional snow) at Target. Then, after we finally were let in the store, you could barely move. I missed out on one deal that I was in search of, but was able to get the TomTom and the external hard drive I was after. I picked up a couple of other things and then stood in line for half an hour to pay. Then I headed to Kohl's, I picked up a few deals and then I stood in line for an hour to check out. I was going to go to a few other places, but stopped home and never got the get up and go to go back out.

Personal Lifestyle Planner Winner

Congratulations to Sarah J! She's the winner of the Personal Lifestyles Planner giveaway.

Thank you all for participating.

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

2
Timestamp: 2009-11-26 03:13:09 UTC

Fat Burnin' Friday

Well, I must say, I am rather proud of myself. I had a holiday dinner with my family, Thanksgiving Day and eating out twice...and I lost weight! Yeah!

I think the secret to my success was planning. Before going out to dinner at The Melting Pot, I checked out their menu. I could see that there weren't many great choices, but I could moderate within the choices. I also ate smaller meals earlier in the day to conserve Points. We had the cheese fondue...I had just one bread cube, instead using veggies to dip. I ate all of my salad, dressing on the side. For our main course, we cooked in wine, which was healthier than the oil. I focused on eating the brocolli that came with our meal and gave my husband more than his half on the main course. I didn't skip dessert - I couldn't Milk Chocolate fondue with marshmallows, bananas, strawberries, brownies...oh my.

In planning, I also was on-line using Weight Watcher e-Tools. I used the recipe builder for my pie recipe and learned that each piece is 7 points. That way, I could count those points before I consumed them. I made sure to eat mostly vegetable dishes and had a taste size amount of most of the other choices at the family holiday meal. I still got to taste everything, but didn't go overboard on quanitities. To me, this was important because many of the dishes I only get at family potluck type meals.

I also stuck with my exercise plan (mostly). I got up each morning during the week and exercised, even on Thanksgiving. I misseed on Friday, I had to go shopping and couldn't get up earlier than that.

At my Weight Watchers weigh in last week, I lost 1#. I was pleased with that, since the holiday meal and the Melting Pot were both before the weigh in.

I now only have 24.6# to go. A loss this week of about 1.5# for the week. Now, I just need to survive all of the holiday parties coming up without gaining weight.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:
Nothing.

Received:
Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew
L'oreal EverPure Shampoo/Conditioner
Baseball Digest
Dentek Floss Picks
Coupons for DelMonte SunFresh or Orchard Select jar from VocalPoint

CVS Deals - 11/26

Amidst the fun-filled, family day on Thanksgiving, my daughter and I snuck out for a little bit of CVS-ing. She is so cute, she had to bring along her own list, including a pencil to mark what she got. While there, she carried around a little stuffed Snoopy toy and kept asking if we could get the puppy. I suggested that maybe she should put a stuffed puppy on her list for Santa. Then, during a walk-by of the toys, she inquired whether Santa could buy all of this stuff for her. It was a good trip...they actually had everything in stock, which surprised me slightly.

Transaction #1
1 - Tums 96ct
1 - Hershey Milk Chocolate Bar
3 - Herbal Essence (Shampoo, Conditioner, Styler)
2 - Colgate Total Toothpaste
1 - Colgate 360 Toothbrush
1 - Vaseline Sheer Infusion
1 - Softsoap Elements
1 - Degree Ultra Clear

-$5 $5/$30 CVS coupon
-$2 Tums CVS coupon from Flu Book
-$1 Herbal Essence Mfg coupon
-$2.99 Herbal Essence BOGO Mfg coupon
-$1 Colgate Total Mfg coupon
-$.75 Colgate Total Mfg coupon
-$1 Colgate 360 Toothbrush IP
-$1.50 Vaseline IP
-$.40 Softsoap Mfg coupon

Paid with $10 ECB and a $10 ECB adjusted down to $9.94. Paid $2.26 in tax. Earned $1, $.89, $6, $4, $2, $7.99, $4 and $4 ECB.

Transaction #2
1 - M&M King Size
1 - Colgate Dora Toothbrush (for my assistant)
1 - St. Ives Body Wash
1 - Phillips Headphones
1 - Irish Spring Bar Soap

-$.30 Irish Spring Mfg coupon

Paid with $.89, $1, $4, $4 and $6 ECBs from Transaction #1 and $1.34 OOP. Earned $1.59, $2, $3, and $6.99 ECBs.

So, I started with $20 in ECBs and finished with $27.57 in ECBs. My OOP, mostly tax, was $3.60. I netted $3.97 "profit".

For more deals, check out Super Savings Saturday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a wonderful, Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy the time with your family and give thanks for the joy and wonder in your life.

Target Sweepstakes

I don't usually enter or share many sweepstakes, but there is a two day sweepstakes going on at Target. Enter to win a $10,000 gift card drawing. In addition, you are eligible to win gift cards or could get a coupon for a free medium soda for this weekend. You can read terms and conditions on here.

Poppycock

I'm a sucker for snacks. It's the main reason that I need to do a Fat Burnin' Friday post. One of the challenges with snacking, is that it tends to lead to cycle snacking...something crunchy, followed by something sweet, followed by something salty, followed by something sweet...if one snack doesn't do it and satisfy my craving, I try the next thing. Talk about a bad way to consume a lot of calories!

For me the secret of minimizing snacking is to find a great all in one snack, something that is sweet, salty and crunchy. It is more likely to satisfy my craving than a snack that is just one. If you are looking for an all in one snack, one to try is Poppycock. The salty, sweet flavor of the popcorn coated in that caramel-esque glaze, along with the salty sweetness of the almonds and pecans in the same glaze provides a nice sweet, salty and crunchy combination to satisfy the need for sweet, salty and crunchy all in one snack.

I didn't realize how many varieties of Poppycock there are. There's Original, Chocolate Lover's, Cashew Lovers, and even Pecan Delight. I'm not sure that you can go wrong combining caramel corn with chocolate - yum!

I will confess, that I don't eat nuts...I know, they are half the reason for eating the Poppycock. I do eat around them so that I can enjoy the sweet and salty popcorn coated in their "amazing glaze". My husband, who eats the nuts too, agrees that Poppycock is a nice sweet, salty, and crunchy snack.

Have you tried Poppycock? What do you think? Share a comment or link to a post.

I did not receive any compensation for this post, but did receive a small canister of Poppycock to try in order share my opinion.

CVS Scenarios - week of 11/22

I really am hoping that the Thanksgiving/Black Friday deals are good like last year, because this week's ad doesn't hold much promise.

Transaction #1
1 - Complete
1 - Tums

-$1 Complete IP
-$2 Tums CVS coupon from Flu Book
-$1 Tums IP

Total $8.98. Earn $8.99 and $1 ECB.

Transaction #2
1 - Complete
1 - Listerine

-$1 Complete IP
-$1 Listerine CVS coupon
-$.50 Listerine IP

Total $10.48, pay with $9.99 in ECBs and $.49 OOP. Earn $8.99 and $1 ECB.

Transaction #3
2 - Trop50
1 - Arm & Hammer Spin Brush

-$1 Trop50 IP
-$1 Trop50 IP
-$2 Arm & Hammer Spin Brush IP

Total $8.99, pay with $8.99 ECB from Transaction #2. Earn $1 and $2 ECBs.

Total OOP $9.47 with $4 in ECBs to roll.

For more deals and scenarios, check out Money Saving Mom, Deal Seeking Mom and The "Cent"sible Sawyer.

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
1 - Arm & Hammer Spin Brush

-$2 Arm & Hammer Spin Brush IP

Total $4.99, earn $2 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Tums

-$2 Tums CVS coupon from Flu Book
-$1 Tums IP

Total $1.99, pay with $2 ECBs, adjusted down to $1.99. Earn $1 ECBs.

Total OOP, $4.99 with $1 ECB to roll.

For more $5 Scenarios, check out Keeping the Kingdom First.

Menu Plan Monday

This week, once again, we are eating primarily from our freezer stock as I am trying to clean out the deep freeze, so that we can defrost it. It's been quite a few years and it needs to be done. I didn't make a shopping trip this weekend, but will probably go mid-week for important stuff, like Whipped Cream for the pumpkin pie. I'm not completely sure how we will use up leftovers, but will likely try to use up the turkey in different types of recipes.

At our house, the focus is on dinners. I tend to only list the main course and any standard side we have with it. We do still have vegetables and/or fruit with each of our dinners, I just don't always call them out.

Sunday
Cereal
Ham/Barbecue Beef
Pizza

Monday
Leftovers

Tuesday
Pork Chops

Wednesday
Favorite Local Mexican Restaurant

Thursday
Cereal
Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Pumpkin Pie
Leftovers (perhaps some Turkey Soup)

Friday
Cereal
Sandwiches
Shredded Turkey Tacos

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
TBD

Weekdays breakfast is at daycare for my daughter, the rest of us eat cold cereal, frozen waffles, oatmeal, toast or whatever strikes our fancy. Lunch we pack, usually leftovers for me.

Check out other menu plans for the week at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Target Deals

Well, I learned the other day when I headed over to Target.com to check out the coupons that Target got a new program for generating their coupons. There was a great $1/1 Pepsi 12-pack coupon that I was excited to use. I got my Super Kmart ad the next day and they were featuring 12-pk Pepsi products 5 for $10. So, on Friday night after work, I headed to Target. I went to the kiosk first, like I always do so that I could print my coupons for the shopping trip. Only problem, nothing comes up when you click Grocery Coupons. I called over the service desk employee and he played with it for a little while and concluded that he didn't know what was wrong. My theory is that it is related to their new software. I am very bummed by this. I really liked using their paper and ink to print their coupons and now, it doesn't appear that this will be an option. I did have the two I was able to print from home, so I went ahead and picked those up. While looking for the variety I wanted, I found that Market Pantry Apple Juice was being substituted for the Ocean Spray that was on special this week, but out.

Transaction #1
2 - 12pk Mtn Dew Voltage
2 - Market Pantry Apple Juice

-$1 Pepsi 12-pk Target coupon
-$1 Pepsi 12-pk Target coupon
-$.05 bag credit

Total $4.70. Paid with $.67 on one gift card and $4.03 on the other gift card. I like buying stuff without paying with actual cash.

For more deals, check out Super Savings Saturday and Shopping Superstars.

Target Deals

I had to stop at Target to fill a prescription the other morning, while there, I decided to pick up a few items.

Transaction #1
2 - Chinet Luncheon Plates (72 ct)

-$1 Chinet Printable
-$1 Chinet Printable

Total $7.96 OOP, earn $5 Gift Card

Transaction #2
2 - Jet Puffed Marshmallows
1 - Up & Up Toddler Wipes
4 - Rayovac Alkaline Batteries, AA 2 pk

-$1 $1/2 Jet Puffed Marshmallows Target coupon
-$1 Up & Up Diapers or Wipes coupon
-$1 $1/2 Rayovac Mfg coupon
-$1 $1/2 Rayovac Mfg coupon

Total $4.33, paid with gift card from Transaction #1.

I got everything pictures for under $8 and I still have $.67 on the gift card. In addition, I had gotten a register coupon the other day for $20 Gift Card with new prescription, so I also got that when I picked up my prescription.

For more deals, check out Super Savings Saturday and Shopping Superstars.

CVS Deals - 11/20

I had another Kleenex tissue coupon, so I stopped at CVS today. I finally remembered to ask about their holiday book with the $4 ECB coupon inside.

Transaction #1
2 - Kleenex Tissues
2 - Gold Emblem Gummie Bears

-$1 Kleenex CVS coupon (from flu book)
-$.75 Kleenex Mfg coupon
-$1 $1/2 Gold Emblem Candy coupon

Total $1.09, which I put on the gift card from the error earlier this week.

For more deals, check out:
Super Savings Saturday and Shopping Superstars

Fat Burnin' Friday

Well, I was true to the promise I made last week. Starting on Monday, I set my alarm a little earlier and got myself out of bed each morning to exercise. I started the P90X rotation from the beginning. I did skip Yoga and move Kempo forward, but that is because the Yoga is 1 1/2 hours long and I can't get up another 1/2 hour early. All of the other workouts are about an hour in length. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, it was strength training. Tuesday and Thursday were full out cardiovascular workouts. You know what? - It felt great! Sure I was sore, but it was a good hurt. I was energized by my morning workout and felt revitalized. The one frustrating, but not surprising thing, was that I was hungry! after working out. I found that my daily consumption, understandably, went up. The unfortunate thing is, my body takes time to adjust and I just couldn't seem to get anywhere this week, with a mere .2# weight loss.

At my Weight Watchers meeting on Monday, as predicted, I recovered the gain from the prior week and recorded additional loss. In fact, I have now officially lost 10# on Weight Watchers (again, this lags my Fat Burnin' Friday because I started that earlier). At the meetings, they are talking about preparing for the holidays. How do you stay focused to your goal while enjoying time with friends and family. It is a great topic of discussion and I am glad to see that they devote some time in advance of the holidays to talking about it.

I now have just 26# to lose to get to my goal. My hope is that next week, with my body full swing in exercising and adapted to an uptick in consumption (more than offset in exercise) that I will see a better loss.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:

Lipton Green Tea sample
Stacy's Pita Chips
Always Infinity Sample

Received:

Nescafe - 6 pack of instant sticks, flavors
Pampers sample and coupon
Pantene - $2 coupon from Vocal Point
Oregon Chai Tea and coupon
PediaSure NutraPals coupons

CVS Deals - 11/19

I headed out to CVS on Monday to take advantage of this week's deals.

Transaction #1
1 - Duracell batteries
3 - Kleenex Tissues
1 - Covergirl Simply Ageless Foundation
1 - Covergirl Simply Ageless Blush
1 - Glade Sense and Spray
1 - Glade Lasting Impressions
1 - Nyquil Caplets

-$.75 Duracell Mfg coupon
-$.50 $.50/3 Kleenex Mfg coupon
-$1 Kleenex CVS coupon (from Flu Book)
-$1 Covergirl Mfg coupon
-$10 Buy One Fndtn Get One Face Product Covergirl Mfg coupon
-$4 Glade Sense & Spray Mfg coupon
-$3 Glade Sense & Spray CVS coupon (from CVS.com)
-$3 Glade Lasting Impresssions Mfg coupon
-$3 Glade Lasting Impressions CVS coupon (from CVS.com)
-$1.50 Nyquil Mfg coupon
-$.50 Nyquil CVS coupon (from Flu Book)

Paid with $17.99 in ECBs and $3.77 OOP ($3.06 + tax). Earned $10, $4 and $1 ECB.

Transaction #2
3 - Kleenex Tissues
1 - Herbal Essence Shampoo
1 - Herbal Essence Mousse
2 - Theraflu Liquid
1 - Dayquil Caplet

-$5 $5/$20 CVS coupon
-$.50 $.50/3 Kleenex Mfg coupon
-$1 Kleenex CVS coupon (from Flu Book)
-$2.88 Free Herbal Essence Mfg coupon
-$2.88 Buy One Get One Styler Free Mfg coupon
-$2 Theraflu Mfg coupon
-$2 Theraflu Mfg coupon
-$3 $3/2 Theraflu CVS coupon (from Flu Book)
-$1.50 Dayquil Mfg coupon
-$.50 Dayquil CVS coupon (from Flu Book)

Paid with $4 and $1 ECB and $2.20 OOP ($1.74 + tax). Earned $0 ECBs.

WHAT! Turns out, I had accidentally grabbed plain old Dayquil and Nyquil Cold and Flu caplets - only the Cold and Flu with Vitamin C were on the deal. Not only that, but the ones that I bought were $.99 each more expensive (plus tax). That explained why my OOP was higher than expected. I just wish that I had read the ad (or the package) closer. It doesn't help that my CVS is very inconsistent in tagging the ECB items. Can anyone explain why CVS can't do a credit and a purchase in the same transaction? Everyother store I shop at seems to be able to.

Transaction #3
- 1 Nyquil Caplets
- 1 Dayquil Caplets

Credit of $12.76 onto a giftcard.

Transaction #4
1 - Nyquil Caplets (with Vitamin C this time)
1 - Dayquil Caplets (with Vitamin C this time)

Total $10.65. Paid with giftcard. Balance remaining of $2.11 and earned $10 ECB.

I started the day with $17.99 in ECBs. I spent $5.97 OOP (minus my credit on card = $3.86) and finished with $20 in ECBs. Net cost for everything - $1.85. Not too shabby for six boxes of tissues, makeup, air fresheners and cold & flu medicine. According to my receipts, I saved $97.64 during this visit (really?). Wow!

For more deals, check out Super Savings Saturday and Shopping Superstars.

Sweet Potatoes

Growing up, I was convinced that I didn't like Sweet Potatoes. I'm not sure if I ever even tried them. I'm not sure what I thought could be so bad about a dish that was covered with marshmallows, after all I love marshmallows.
To this day, I've never made that traditional style of candied sweet potatoes. I've had quite a few other variations - Kahlua Candied Yams, Sweet Potato Casserole, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Sweet Potatoes with Pineapples. The last one, I actually made for the first time at my daughter's birthday a few weeks ago. I usually use fresh Yams to make my sweet potato dishes, but keep a couple cans of vac pac Sweet Potatoes on hand. These are like pre-boiled sweet potatoes with no syrup. They make recipe preparation a snap and since they don't have any syrup, they are very similar to fresh.

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 c mashed sweet potatoes (about 2#)
1/2 c granulated sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c milk
1/4 c butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
topping:
1/2 c packed light brown sugar
1/3 c flour
1/3 c butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a shallow 2-qt casserole.

In a medium bowl, stir together the potatoes, granulated sugar, eggs, milk, butter, salt and vanilla. Scrape the mixture into prepared casserole.

In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar and flour. Sprinkle over the top of the casserole. Dot with butter.

Place casserole on baking sheet and bake uncovered 30 -35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Here are some other Thanksgiving recipes I have shared in the past:
Pumpkin Pudding - easy treat, tastes like pumpkin pie with less work
Corn Souffle

For more Thanksgiving recipes, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap Thanksgiving Edition at Life As Mom.

Tangled Hair

My daughter has lots of wonderful, thick hair. Wonderful that is until it is all tangled. Then it is a battlefield. She gets upset as I try to brush through it. For a while, I debated having her wear it shorter, so that the amount that could tangle would be reduced, but I love her hair a little longer (just past shoulder length). That length lets me braid and french braid, do ponytails and pigtails, and to put it back in barrettes and headbands.

I needed a way to reduce the battles though when I combed through her hair. I use a detangler spray after bath, but you still have to work it into a tangle for it to help. Then, a while back, I discovered that by brushing her hair before her bath, before bedtime, before swimming, etc., reduced the amount of tangles that appear after her bath, in the morning, when we are done swimming. It's really a simple task that takes but a minute to do, but has saved us countless tears.

For more tips and tricks, check out Works for Me Wednesday.

The Story of Christmas

When my son was a baby, I wanted to find a story about Christmas that told about the birth of Jesus in a simple, easy to understand way. I struggled to find one. When I was contacted about reviewing The Story of Christmas, I was curious, could this be the book I was looking for?

The story is broken down into 2 page "chapters". Each title includes the Bible passage it is derived from. The story includes nice, but simple illustrations. After each chapter, there is a discussion starter. I like this, because with the really young, you can simply read the story, with older kids you can engage them with discussions about the story. At the end of the book, there is a copy of the illustrations featured in the story. The child is supposed to put the pictures in order and retell the story from the book. Again, I think that features like this help the child better internalize the story.

Included with the book is a DVD. The DVD has six stories. The first two are from The Story of Christmas, the other four follow Jesus as he grows up into adulthood. I like that the DVD goes beyond the book, as it shares other Bible stories that children can relate too. It was though a little disappointing to my daughter who had been turning the pages through the first two stories. She kept asking, can I turn the page now, to which I replied, this story is only on the TV not in the book.

I think this book is a good option for a parent to share the Christmas story with their young children, presented in a simple, yet not too simple format. With the approach of the book, I think it is a great discussion starter for older children who can further explore the stories through discussion.


The Story of Christmas  by Gwen Ellis  
Illustrated by Steve Smallman
Ages: 4-7
Put out by:   Thomas Nelson
Price:  $10.99


I did not receive any compensation for this post, but did receive a copy of The Story of Christmas to share with my family for the purposes of review.

El Tacodor Prize Pack Winner

Congratulations JC! You are the winner of the El Tacodor Prize Pack.

I have sent an e-mail to JC to get contact information.

Thank you to everyone for entering.

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

48
Timestamp: 2009-11-17 02:24:00 UTC

Police Blockade

My son loves to play games. We love to play games as a family, but sometimes, there just isn't anyone to play a game with. When MamaBzz contacted me about doing a review of Police Blockade, I was very interested. Police Blockade is a solitaire game that helps develop logic skills.



The description from Timberdoodle.com:

Police Blockade
Sirens screaming and tires screeching, there is nothing like a little police action to liven up a road trip. Police Blockade lets you keep it legal but is just as exciting.

Your Job: Block Him
An elegant red sports car has been stolen and the police force is scrambling to jam every escape route. As police chief, your child will be asked to coordinate all available units in order to prevent a getaway. His career is on the line; can he block the perpetrator's escape and avoid unnecessary bloodshed?

60 Challenges!
With 60 fast-paced easy to expert challenges he will have plenty of chances for a "do over"! For 1 player. Includes game board, clear plastic lid, one red sports car, six police cars, and four sets of buildings, game booklet, and a nifty elastic band to hold it all together.

Logic, Thinking Skills, Visual Perception...
This one-player game develops logical reasoning, builds higher cognitive thinking, and strengthens visual and spatial perception. It is self-contained, includes solutions, and makes an ideal travel companion. Plus, it offers an amazing amount of fun for all ages!

Game includes:
· Game board
· 60 puzzles with four levels of difficulty
· One red sports car
· Six police cars
· Four sets of buildings
· Solution booklet

Publisher: Educational Insights
Ages: 7+
Time To Play: 5-20 minutes
Players: 1

UPS delivered the game on Friday night, as we were heading upstairs for bed (seems like a late delivery time to me!). When I came down, I couldn't wait to check the game out. There are 60 challenges for the kids (or adults) to solve. They start out with easier ones and progressively get harder. The puzzle book provides the location of the buildings and the bad guy. You have to position all of the police cars on the board so that there is no escape route for the bad guy and so they all fit. There are solutions at the back of the book, but don't be tempted to look at them.

Saturday morning when my son woke up, he couldn't wait to try out the game. As he solves each challenge, he moves onto the next page. Sometimes the first challenge he faces is making all of the pieces fit, but then even when they all fit, sometimes it's not the right solution. There is a lot of try and try again. But that is a good thing, it helps him develop problem solving skills as he tries to reorganize the pieces to block the bad guy. At first, he would say, I can't do it, help. And I did. After a few, I encouraged him to start over at the beginning and see if he could do it. He has worked through the first 10 of the 60 challenges provided already and pulls it out anytime he has some time.

I asked my son what he thought of the game - he simply said I like it. I then asked him what he liked about the game and he told me that he liked it because it was hard. I agree with him, puzzles that are too easy aren't fun.

Included in my shipment was a catalog from Timberdoodle. I have to say that they have a lot of really great toys, games and activities. Their focus is homeschooling, but the toys, games and activities are great even for everyone (even families like mine that don't homeschool). They offer flat rate shipping, which is great if you are looking to get lots of resources for your homeschool curriculum .

I did not receive any compensation for this post, but did receive a free copy of Police Blockade to review courtesy of MamaBzz and Timberdoodle.

Personal Lifestyle Planner

I was recently given the opportunity to check out the Personal Lifestyle Planner from Daysteps. The Daysteps Personal Lifestyle Planner is unlike any other you may have used, and was developed by four women Kelly Wagner; Cecilia George, Bobette Kyle, and Laura Thake, who were all familiar with the concept of feeling too busy to get the most out of your life. This planner is different because it encompasses many key aspect of your life and is designed to motivate you to become the person you want to be; to feel calm and capable about carrying out your daily activities and reaching your intentions.

The calendar is broken down into a number of unique page types:

• Priorities and Intentions pages, for reaching life goals

• Space for clearing your head of cluttered thoughts and recognizing all you do each day

• To do list for accomplishing day-to-day tasks

• Personal pages for filling your heart through introspective writing

• Fitness and nutritional tracking sections to help you feel your best everyday

• Calendars for schedules and appointments

The first two pages of the calendar provide guidance on using the calendar. Then, for each month it starts with your monthly priorities and intentions, then a monthly calendar, then for each week there are weekly calendar with a to do list to the left and daily health, fitness, and nutrition tracker, then the clear your head page for recording your thoughts and then the Fill Your Heart page for reflecting on your day and recording memorable moments.

I really like the Health, Fitness and Nutrition tracker. I think that having this all in one place with my schedule and to do list, will help keep me on focus for my goal of weight loss and better fitness. I like that it includes a space for recording the amount of sleep you get each night. I think that recording this would give me a good perspective and help me modify my routine to ensure I was getting the right amount of sleep. I have a theory (mine, but perhaps others support) that the less sleep I get at night, the worse I eat. I think that it occurs on both sides of the night. If I stay up too late, I tend to nibble in an effort to stay awake, which is crazy. Then the next day, I'm tired and turn to food (or empty caffeinated beverage calories) to provide me with energy. Tracking sleep alongside nutrition tracker could help me find that optimal level, where I am still eating healthy and exercising, but provides me with the waking hours I need to get everything done.

The fact that everything is in one place, I hope will help me reach another goal that I seem to always have - Getting Organized. I like the space to record memorable moments - I think this will help me in another goal, organizing photos and putting together scrapbooks - by recording them, I will have the anecdotal comments to add to the pictures that capture our life.

There are three editions being launched - all eco-friendly, green and printed on recycled paper: Full Year 2010 retails for $34.95; January-June 2010 is $18.95; and July-December 2010 is $18.95. The calendar that I received to review is the January - June 2010 version and is a 8 1/2" x 11" soft-sided, spiral bound (double spiral, non-snagging) book.

Daysteps also has an inspirational blog to guide you along. You can find it on the Daysteps website.

After having the chance to see the Daysteps Lifestyle Planner, I am very excited to begin tracking my progress and using this planner come January. The layout is easy to follow and perfect for a busy mom or the busy individual that never gives themselves the chance to sit down. With the upcoming holidays, I'm thinking that this could be an excellent gift idea for the busy women in all of our lives.

Giveaway!
In addition to receiving a planner to review, courtesy of the women at Daysteps, I also have been given the opportunity to provide One Lucky Reader with a Jan 2010-June 2010 Planner so you can see for yourself how great this planner is!

How to enter:

Primary entry - Visit Daysteps and then come back here and leave a comment sharing what you like best about the planner and how this planner would help you.

Bonus entries -
Follow me and Daysteps on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. This can be done once per day, be sure to leave a separate comment for each tweet.

Sign up for daily updates by RSS feed or e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know you subscribe.

Add my button to your sidebar or my blog to blog roll. Leave me a comment letting me know you did, with a link to your blog.

Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back. Leave a comment letting me know you blogged, with a link to your post.

Fave this blog on Technorati and leave a comment letting me know that you did.

Giveaway will remain open until Wednesday, November 25th at 9 pm Eastern. Winner will be selected using a random number generator. Winner will be contacted by e-mail and have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

I did not receive any compensation for this post, but did receive my own Personal Lifestyle Planner from Daysteps.

Menu Plan Monday

This week we are eating primarily from our freezer stock. I am trying to clean out the deep freeze, so that we can defrost it. It's been quite a few years and it needs to be done. The shopping trip this weekend was small as a result. I picked up pasta for the Up rebate, some bread, yogurt, milk, orange juice, produce and luncheon meat. The total was under $30 for the week's groceries.

At our house, the focus is on dinners. I tend to only list the main course and any standard side we have with it. We do still have vegetables and/or fruit with each of our dinners, I just don't always call them out.

Sunday
Cereal
Leftovers
Pizza

Monday
Chicken Fajitas

Tuesday
Lasagna (using homemade Spaghetti and Meatballs for filling)

Wednesday
Chicken Gravy over biscuits

Thursday
Leftovers

Friday
Sloppy Joes

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
Out

Weekdays breakfast is at daycare for my daughter, the rest of us eat cold cereal, frozen waffles, oatmeal, toast or whatever strikes our fancy. Lunch we pack, usually leftovers for me.

Check out other menu plans for the week at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

CVS Scenarios - week of 11/15

I am liking some of the deals that are available at CVS this week. With the right coupons, you can get a lot of product with very little OOP. In fact, with these scenarios, you can earn more ECBs than you spend OOP.

Transaction #1
1 - Glade Sense and Spray Starter
1 - Glade Lasting Impressions
3 - Kleenex
1 - Nyquil Cold and Flu

-$4 Glade Sense & Spray Mfg coupon
-$3 Glade Sense & Spray CVS coupon (from CVS.com will be adjusted down to $2)
-$3 Glade Lasting Impressions Mfg coupon
-$3 Glade Lasting Impressions CVS coupon (from CVS.com)
-$.50 $.50/3 Kleenex Mfg coupon
-$1 Kleenex CVS coupon (from Flu Coupon book)
-$1.50 Nyquil Mfg coupon
-$.50 Nyquil CVS coupon (from Flu Coupon book)

Total $4.50 OOP. Earn $4 ECBs.

Transaction #2
2 - Theraflu
1 - Dayquil Cold and Flu
3 - Kleenex
1 - Dry Idea Roll On

-$5 $5/$20 CVS coupon
-$2 Theraflu Mfg coupon (or IP if you don't have the one from the paper)
-$2 Theraflu Mfg coupon
-$3 $3/2 Theraflu CVS coupon (from Flu Coupon book)
-$1.50 Dayquil Mfg coupon
-$.50 Dayquil CVS coupon (from Flu Coupon book)
-$1 Dry Idea CVS coupon (from Flu Coupon book)

Total $5.79, pay with $4 ECBs and $1.79 OOP. Earn $10 and $1 ECBs.

Transaction #3
1 - Covergirl Simply Ageless Foundation
1 - Covergril Simply Ageless Blush

-$1 Covergirl mfg coupon
-$10 Buy One Covergirl Foundation, Get One Covergirl Face Product Free Mfg coupon

Total $12, pay with $11 ECBs from Transaction #2 and $1 OOP. Earn $10 ECBs.

For the day, you will have spent $7.29 OOP and have $10 ECBs left to roll. You will be well stocked for the coming flu and cold season with 4 medicines and 6 boxes of tissues, plus you will have some nice air fresheners, deoderant and makeup to round it out.

For more deals and scenarios, check out Deal Seeking Mom, Money Saving Mom and the "Cent"sible Sawyer.

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
1 - Glade Sense and Spray Starter
1 - Glade Lasting Impressions
3 - Kleenex

-$4 Glade Sense & Spray Mfg coupon
-$3 Glade Sense & Spray CVS coupon (from CVS.com will be adjusted down to $2)
-$3 Glade Lasting Impressions Mfg coupon
-$3 Glade Lasting Impressions CVS coupon (from CVS.com)
-$.50 $.50/3 Kleenex Mfg coupon
-$1 Kleenex CVS coupon (from Flu Coupon book)

Total $4.50 OOP. Earn $4 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Dry Idea
1 - Duracell Battery
1 - Gold Emblem Bagged Candy

-$1 Dry Idea CVS coupon (from Flu Coupon book)
-$1 Duracell Mfg coupon

Total $4.16. Pay with $4 ECBs and $.16 OOP. Earn $1 and $1 ECB.

Total OOP $4.66, with $2 ECBs to roll, for $20.25 worth of product.

For more $5 Scenarios, check out the CVS $5 Challenge.

CVS Deals - 11/13

After a very long spell of no CVS, I headed out today after work. I had a $5/$30 coupon that was set to expire and my ECBs were aging too!

Transaction #1
2 - Triaminic Cold Medicine
1 - Delsym Cough
1 - Earinse
2 - Gold Emblem Nuts Snack Packs

-$5 $5/$30 CVS coupon
-$1.50 Triaminic Mfg coupon
-$1.50 Triaminic Mfg coupon
-$2 Delsym CVS coupon (from $100 flu book)
-$2 $2/2 GE Nuts CVS CRT

Paid with $10.99 in assorted ECBs and $8.70 OOP. My OOP was higher than I would have liked, but since I earned $10 and $7.99 in ECBs, my net cost was only $1.70, which I felt better about. Then, as I was leaving, I reviewed my receipt and realized that the Cashew Snack Pack had rung up incorrectly. I headed back into the store and got $.10 back. I know, it was only ten cents, but if you let all those ten cents go, they really will add up.

For more deals, check out:
Super Savings Saturday
Shopping Superstars

Fat Burnin' Friday

Well, I'm starting to sound like a broken record...it was another tough week for me. It's sort of amazing to me how each passing week presents me with a whole new set of challenges in my journey to lose weight.

This week, it was a birthday party. And, not just a birthday party, a weekend full of house guests. My daughter turned three last week and we had an Abby Cadabby party on Saturday. I spent much of Friday baking, cooking and prepping. We had a magic wand cake, magic wand cookies and ice cream to celebrate. We had turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, make ahead mashed potatoes (yummy, but you add extra calories/fat with the cream cheese), cauliflower/broccoli casserole, spinach salad, fruit and rolls for dinner. I think I ate reasonably well at the party, it was the before and after that I'm not so sure about. A taste here or there to check the spice and flavor of the food as I was preparing it. The pizza we ordered in for dinner on Friday night. The cinnamon bread I made as part of breakfast for the weekend. The cold cut sandwiches for lunch before the party. The pepperoni and cheese with crackers and wine while we hung out and played a really fun game (I'll have to share that one later). Dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant on Sunday. And of course, some ice cream and cake. I feel stuffed thinking of it all.

The good news is, I splurge and then I got right back on target. I did well avoiding temptation during the week, for the most part. It might have been a tough start to the week, but the good news is I finished the week same as I started it. There was a gain to start and a lot of effort to recover, but I lost what I gained.

The unfortunate thing is I still can't seem to motivate myself out of bed just before 5am to exercise. I really need to get back into this routine. Last spring, when I was exercising, not only was a I losing weight, but I was toning my body and I felt great and full of energy. I know once I get up and do it for a couple of days, I will be fine...it's just getting up that first day. I would like to start on Monday. I am planning to go to bed early and give it a shot.

As to my Weight Watchers weigh in...it was a gain. It's funny, I have gained twice in the 8 weeks - each time it was 1.4#. After last time, I lost 3.5# at the next meeting. I think that following Weight Watcher's allows me to regain control quickly when I splurge. I probably could have done a better job of control over the weekend, but to me it is reassuring that Weight Watchers is enough of a lifestyle change that I know in the future, once I have lost my weight and am maintaining, that an occasional celebration or traveling isn't doom, it's a minor setback from which my new lifestyle will let me recover.

I still have 26.2# to go and am 1/3 of the way to my original goal. I'm am okay with a flat week. It serves as motivation to do better next week.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:

Kotex Overnight with Wings
Green Works Natural Laundry Detergent SHOPTEXT NATURAL

Received:

Ummm. Empty mailbox this week.

Busytown Mysteries

Did you grow up reading Richard Scarry books? I know I did. I can remember checking them out of the library. I remember that there were Busytown toys, too. As with many things from my childhood, Richard Scarry and Busytown is back. Starting this weekend, there is a new series on CBS - Busytown Mysteries. You can find the schedule for your area here. The show airs during Cookie Jar TV.

Busytown Mysteries is the Winner of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association Award (CFTPA) for Best Children’s and Youth Series. The series, which evidently was released in Canada first, already has 52 half hour episodes in season one and season two is in production.

Through One2One Network, I was given the opportunity to get an advanced copy of one of the episodes. Each episode consists of two eleven minute "mini" episodes. My kids and I sat down on Wednesday evening to watch the two mini episodes we received. The characters were just as I remembered from childhood (they even drove the apple car - who doesn't remember that!). The cast is lead by Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm. Together with the other members of the community, they solve the many every day mysteries of Busytown. Once they determine that they have a mystery to solve, they are off singing "Who? What? When? Where? Why?"

Busytown Mysteries engages children with fun storylines and lovable characters, while introducing them to deductive reasoning skills. As they try to figure out, Who? What? When? Where? Why?, they use resources at hand - researching at the library, taking a picture to get a better look, etc. I really liked the way that they systematically worked through the mystery and then once it was solved, they provide a brief recap of how they solved the mystery.

After watching the first half of the show, my son was asking if we could watch more. I explained it was a new show and that after we watched the DVD that we had, I would set up the DVR to record the Busytown Mysteries. In my area, the show airs three times on Saturday morning. I will be interested to see the commercials - what they are for and how many there are. For the most part, we don't watch commercial TV, sticking with Disney, Noggin and PBS, so commercials are still a bit of a confusion to my kids. (I remember when Blue's Baby Brother aired and there were commercials - only like one set, but my son had never seen a commercial and got so upset when it came on in the middle of his show).

In addition to the new series, you and your children can also play in Busytown through their fun, interactive website BusytownMysteries.com, where kids can explore different neighborhoods in Busytown, interact with the Busytown characters and play 14 games and activities designed for preschoolers, including interactive games, a Fan Club and “My First Email,” which lets little ones email their progress to pre-approved friends and family addresses. I checked it out myself, but have not yet had my son explore it. The games and activities were cute and again, the characters were familiar. You get to choose a character to be while in Busytown and a car to drive.

Richard Scarry’s books have sold over 150 million copies and have been translated into 30 languages over the last 40 years. If you grew up reading these books, the new series and the website, in addition to the books, is a great way to bring the characters to life for your kids.

I did not receive any compensation for this post, but did receive an advanced copy of Busytown Mysteries courtesy of One2One and Busytown Mysteries.

Tortellini with Sun-dried Tomatoes and tri-colored Peppers

This week's URS at Life As Mom is a Food Allergies/Special Diet edition. Thankfully, we don't cook to a special diet in my house, however, we do have our fair share of meals that would fit in this category. One of my favorites is Tortellini with Tri-Colored Peppers and Sun-Dried Tomatoes (vegetarian). This recipe was one that I learned from a neighbor, when I lived in Pittsburgh right out of college. We would head down to the Strip District on Saturday morning for fresh ingredients and then make dinner together. He was 10 years my senior (my other neighbor that we hung out with was 20 years my senior), but we had a lot of fun hanging out.

Tortellini with Sun-dried Tomatoes and Peppers

1 bag Tortellini
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 orange pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
1 package Sun-Dried Tomatoes, soak in hot water and slice
Shredded Parmesan
olive oil

Prepare the tortellini according to the package, drain and set aside.

In a large skillet or wok, saute your peppers with a touch of olive oil. You don't want to brown them, just warm them. Add the sun-dried tomatoes. Add the tortellini and toss with some additional olive oil. Cook until the tortellini is slightly browned. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

It really is a very simple, yet delicious dish. It has such a fresh flavor. I sometimes leave out the green peppers since they aren't as sweet as the other colors. I also have been known to add some onion to give it a little more depth.

For more Food Allergies/Special Diet Recipes, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap.

For more recipes, check out the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Monsters, Inc and Up DVD Deal

Yesterday, Monsters, Inc and Up were released on Blu-Ray. A while back, I saw the Target coupon as part of their toy coupons release for $10 off when you purchased both the Monster, Inc and the Up Blu-Ray. There also was a coupon for Monsters, Inc available through Disney Movie Rewards, that my husband had found.

In looking through my ads this weekend, it appeared that the best price for the Blu-Ray combo (includes DVD) was at Best Buy - $23.99 for Up and $18.99 for Monsters, Inc (when you purchase Up too). I sent my husband to Target to do the price match and pick up the Blu-Ray combos using the Target toy coupon.

Here is the deal:
1 - Up Blu-Ray/DVD combo(rang up at $19.99)
1 - Monsters, Inc Blu-Ray/DVD combo(price matched at $18.99)

-$10 Up Blu-Ray Combo pack IP
-$8 Monsters, Inc Blu-Ray Combo pack IP
-$10 Target Coupon when you buy Up and Monsters, Inc Blu-Ray

Total $12.86 OOP. The best part is that I will buy two boxes of pasta (which we use) and will then submit for the Pasta and a Movie rebate of $4. My net price for each of the Blu-Ray/DVD combos will be $4.43! Wow! That is an amazing price for a DVD, and even more so for both the Blu-Ray and the DVD.

Since we bought it at Target, we also got their exclusive "My Adventure Journal" for free as well.

I actually didn't learn about the $10 Up IP until after he made his purchase (thank you Deal Seeking Mom). So, I called Target and asked if I would need to repurchase to use the coupon and they told me they could scan my receipt and do it as a missed coupon. Super easy - my husband said it took about 2 minutes to get the $10 credit back.

Shared at Super Savings Saturday and Shopping Superstars.

A Fairy Princess Birthday

My little lady turned three last week. Since about February, she couldn't stop talking about her Abby Cadabby birthday party. With each passing holiday or birthday, she would ask and then comes my Abby party? We purchased Abby Cadabby invitations (unusual for us, as we normally make our own, but they were on clearance), a table cover, napkins and a birthday hat. That part was easy.

It took me a while to figure out what to do with the cake. Sure there was an Abby Cadabby pan available from Wilton, but I'm not that sure in my cake decorating skills (although I have done some cool cakes - here and here for past cakes) that I was ready to undertake it.

Then, when my Mother-in-Law came out for our son's birthday, she brought a magic wand for our daughter. It was then I had a spark, I knew what I was going to make for her birthday cake - a wand. After all, Abby is a fairy in training and any fairy worth her salt has to have a magic wand. The wand that my daughter got was a star, so I figured I would buy a star pan to make the cake. When I went shopping, I found these great lollipop pans and one was a star. I thought to myself, wand cookies - so of course, I had to buy it.

I am happy to say that my cake turned out lovely (in my humble opinion). I searched high and low for rainbow colored shoe string licorice, hoping that I might make the wand more of a "poof" like Abby's but alas, even though I found the licorice, I couldn't get the effect I was after, so I had to abandon that idea. I did use edible glitter to give it some sparkle and decorated it in a fabulous girly girl pink. I even tied curling ribbons around the handle (white chocolate dipped pretzel rods), to complete the look.


My daughter was thrilled and her friends enjoyed eating the magic wand cookies as well. For me, throwing a party at home and playing up the theme is a great way to do a kid's party on a budget. We tend to only purchased themed accessories and go with standard party ware for the rest. You pay quite a premium for themed plates, napkins, cups and more. We find that if you purchase the character napkins, you can use coordinated solid colored plates and save money over character ones. Some years, we don't even do themed party ware, with the Wiggles party last year, we simply used primary color plates and napkins.

Making my own cake is a huge savings as well. I picked up my pan with a 50% of Michael's coupon (and might turn around and sell it like we've done in the past or since it is just a star, might find a future use for the pan) and the cake mix/frosting cost me just over $2. Surely, ordering a cake could have cost me upwards of $30 for the size party we had. In addition, by cooking at home, you can save money over going somewhere to host a party and having it catered or ordering in pizza, etc.

Last year, after her Wiggle's birthday party (cake posted here), my daughter couldn't stop talking about the party. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to think that I helped create such a wonderful memorable party for her. I know I can remember my mom making our cakes when we were younger, and that is a great memory to have.

For more of what works, check out Works For Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family.

For other frugal ideas, check out Frugal Fridays.

Movie Moments Prize Pack Winner

Congratulations, AngelaC. She is the winner of the Movie Moments Prize Pack giveaway hosted by A Busy Mom of Two.

I have sent an e-mail to AngelaC and she has until 6 pm on Thursday 11/12 to reply or a new winner will be selected.

Thanks everyone for joining in!

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:

22
Timestamp: 2009-11-11 03:24:47 UTC

Flavored Popcorn

One of my favorite snacks is popcorn. Not only is it a filling and tasty treat, it is also reasonably low in calories relative to volume. Sometimes though, you want a slightly different flavor. To this I say - flavored popcorn. There are many ways to achieve flavored popcorn.

The first and easiest is to buy flavored popcorn. One that I like is the Orville Redenbacher Naturals line. I enjoy both the Natural Buttery Garlic as well as the Natural Lime and Salt. I would like to try the Sea Salt and Cracked Pepper. The nice thing is that these popcorns are available in single serve bags, making it a perfect snack for one. Another that I also enjoy is Kettle Corn, a nice sweet treat for days when I need something sweet (and slightly salty). My favorite is the Boy Scout kettle corn, but there are other companies that sell it as well.

But, you can also do it yourself at home. Experiment with different "salts" and other flavors. We have added a few drops of Tabasco and tossed the popcorn, it gives it a nice kick. You could try Lemon Pepper (I have even seen a Lime spice at the store). When we use our air popper (it's been way too long), I would play some with flavors.

The best part is it really is a reasonable and sizable snack for me on Weight Watchers. The 5 1/2 cups that I get from one Orville Redenbacher Naturals is only 4 points. The hardest part is not to drink soda with it (I don't do diet soda), as I always enjoyed having a soda with my popcorn.

Do you have a favorite popcorn flavor? How do you make it at home?

CVS Scenarios - week of 11/8

There are a few deals this week. I'm a little bit disappointed that I didn't wait for the candy deals, I bought some during the Halloween deals but could have gotten a better deal waiting for this week. We are overstocked on candy, so I'll be passing that one up. I would love to do the John Frieda deals that everyone is buzzing about, but my area didn't get the $5/2 coupon or the B1G1 coupons that are being used.

Transaction #1
2 - Triaminic
1 - Dimetapp
1 - Children's Robitussin

-$5 $5/$20 CVS coupon
-$3 $3/2 Triaminic Mfg coupon
-$2 Dimetapp IP
-$1 Robitussin IP

Total $12.50 OOP, earn $10 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Natural Instincts
2 - Crest ProHealth/Sensitivity

-$2 Natural Instincts Mfg coupon
-$1 Crest Mfg coupon
-$1 Crest Mfg coupon

Total $9.97, pay with $10 ECBs from Transaction #1 adjusted down to $9.97. Earn $3 and $4 ECBs.

Transaction #3
1 - EARinse

Total $7.99, pay with $7 ECBs from Transaction #2 and $.99 OOP. Earn $7.99 ECBs.

Total OOP $13.49 with $7.99 ECBs to roll. Total sale value $45.46 (70% savings).

For more deals and scenarios, check out Deal Seeking Mom , the "Cent"sible Sawyer and Money Saving Mom.

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
2 - Crest ProHealth/Sensitivity

-$1 Crest Mfg coupon
-$1 Crest Mfg coupon

Total $4.98 OOP, earn $4 ECBs.

Transaction #2
2 - Arm & Hammer Detergents (BOGO)

-$1 Arm & Hammer IP

Total $3.99. Pay with $4 ECBs from Transaction #1.

Total OOP $4.98 for $16.96 in product, 70% savings.

For more $5 Scnearios, check out the CVS $5 Challenge at Keeping the Kingdom First.

Menu Plan Monday

I didn't really make a trip to the grocery this weekend. I sent my husband on Friday to pick up some odds 'n ends that we needed for the birthday party and I will need to pick up some bread and milk.

At our house, the focus is on dinners. I tend to only list the main course and any standard side we have with it. We do still have vegetables and/or fruit with each of our dinners, I just don't always call them out.

Sunday
Cereal
Leftovers
favorite local Mexican

Monday
Turkey Soup, leftovers

Tuesday
Spaghetti and Meatballs

Wednesday
Crocked Beef

Thursday
Breakfast for Dinner

Friday
Pork Tenderloin

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
Hamburgers on the Grill

Weekdays breakfast is at daycare for my daughter, the rest of us eat cold cereal, frozen waffles, oatmeal, toast or whatever strikes our fancy. Lunch we pack, usually leftovers for me.

Check out other menu plans for the week at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

Fat Burnin' Friday

Yes, I know it isn't Friday, but with a busy week end and weekend, I just didn't have the chance to put the post together.

It was a week that started out rough for me, last Friday when there was a carry-in lunch. It wasn't in my department, so I was fine at lunchtime, but when I learned after lunch that there were leftovers, I just couldn't resist the homemade egg rolls. Of course, when I grabbed one of those, the other treats looked very tempting. I survived Halloween, with little desire to eat any of the candy. Then, I had both lunch and dinner out on Wednesday...a set back, but choosing healthy meals, it was minor set back.

At my weigh in on Monday, I finally passed the 5% mark with my weight loss. I was very pleased with that. I really like how Weight Watchers sets up incremental goals for their members. In fact, they want you to lose 10% before they even help you determine what your goal weight should be. Large goals can be daunting. I think that it is a lot easier to succeed if you are measured against small goals. As you reach each goal, you feel accomplished.

On Friday, when I weighed in, I lost another 1 1/2#. I now only have 26.2# to go and am 1/3 of the way to my original goal.

Samples and Freebies

Requested:
Breathe Right sample
Garnier Nutritioniste
Dove Shampoo/Conditioner
Dentek Floss Picks

Received:
Coupon for free Herbal Essence product

Taco Night and Family Games

At our house, family dinner is an important part of our daily routine. We also like to play games together as a family. Now, with the new El Tacodor Dinner Game from Old El Paso, you can enjoy family game time during family dinner time. You can download a free copy of El Tacodor including instructions, a scorecard and a challenge sheet.

The game consists of 5 categories of challenges. With each challenge won, you get to check off an ingredient. The winner, El Tacodor, is the first person to check off all of the ingredients. El Tacodor can use the site to create their very own El Tacodor Decree - setting up their own game rules, custom toppings and more.

Some examples of the challenges include:

Crunch Time (Beat the clock): Name at least 10 animated movies within 1 minute

Meat-N-Greet (Family Fun): Name 5 things that you’d bring home from your favorite vacation place and let the table guess where you traveled

Lettuce Play (Pantomime): Act out different animals – no noises! Your partner must guess 3

Lime Light (Performance): Cheer, “We love tacos, yes we do! We love tacos, how ‘bout you?”

Say Cheese (Wordplay): Pronounce the name of everyone at the table backwards!

As you can probably imagine, you can learn about your other family members, their acting skills, how well they know you, and more. You will also likely spend a large amount of time giggling together. Making for a memorable family meal.

When you visit the El Tacodor website, in addition to downloading the game, you can also enter the Old El Paso El Tacodor Sweepstakes for a chance to win $5,000 just for having fun with your family. Other prizes include monthly giveaways of $300 cash cards, and weekly giveaways of gift certificates for Old El Paso products for the next five months. In addition, you will find a link to coupons, a calendar to schedule your next taco night, topping choice chart and more!

Giveaway
Thanks to Old El Paso and My Blog Spark, I have the opportunity to share an El Tacodor Game prize pack with one A Busy Mom of Two reader.

The winner will receive the instructions, scorecard and challenge sheet so that you don’t have to download them. In addition, you will receive (2) two coupons to purchase Old El Paso dinner kits and a $10 gift card to purchase any additional meal needs (i.e. meat, cheese, lettuce, etc).

How to enter:

Primary entry - Leave a comment sharing your favorite family game.

Bonus entries -
Follow me on Twitter (@ABusyMomofTwo) and tweet about this giveaway. Can be done once per day, be sure to leave a separate comment for each tweet.

Sign up for daily updates by RSS feed or e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know you subscribe.

Add my button to your sidebar or my blog to blog roll. Leave me a comment letting me know you did, with a link to your blog.

Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back. Leave a comment letting me know you blogged, with a link to your post.

Giveaway will remain open until Monday, November 16th at 9 pm Eastern. Winner will be selected using a random number generator. Winner will be contacted by e-mail and have 36 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

I did not receive any compensation for this post, but did receive my own El Tacodor pack to enjoy a taco dinner and game with my family.

CVS $5/$20 coupon

Well, this one is just a bit better than the $5/$30 coupon I shared the other day, it's $5/$20.

To get this coupon, head here. Then, roll your mouse across the papers to peel them up to reveal the coupon.

Thanks Deal Seeking Mom.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I used to always make my own pasta sauce. I would use a mix of sausage and ground meat and brown that and add a number of ingredients, including bourbon to make my sauce. It was a lot of work, so over time I stopped making it. Then a few years ago, I clipped a recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs from a local paper. I hung onto it for a while, but never made it. Then I decided that I really needed to start trying the recipes I clipped and either keep them or throw them out, I was just accumulating too many. About 4 months ago, I made the Spaghetti and Meatball recipe I had clipped and it is now a favorite of mine. Unlike the meatballs I make for Lasagna, the meatballs for this dish are cooked right in the sauce, no frying or baking required. After eating this a few times, when I made pasta with jarred sauce, my husband commented on how sweet the sauce seems. I guess we were all growing accustomed to this rich tomato-y sauce.

I like to make a big pan of this up, have it for dinner and pack up the rest for the freezer. Then, we can have homemade spaghetti and meatball sauce anytime.

Spaghetti & Meatballs

Sauce:
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
oil
2 large cans of crushed tomatoes
1 12oz can tomato paste
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf

Meatballs:
2# ground meat
6 slices of bread (the recipe calls for day old, grated, but I use fresh bread, dampened, squeezed and torn)
2 1/2 Tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
5 eggs
1 clove garlic, grated
1 small onion, grated
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp parsley

Put a little bit of oil in the bottom of a large pot and add the onions. Saute over medium heat. Add the crushed tomatoes and 1 1/2 large cans of water to the pot. Add the tomato paste and 2 cans of water (they suggest premixing, but I usually mix it in the pot). Add salt and pepper to taste and the bay leaf.

Make the meatballs by combining all ingredients with hands. Roll into meatballs (I keep mine smaller, so I get more). Drop into the sauce.

Bring sauce to a boil, then turn the heat down half way. Let it bubble for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

I will confess that I modified the recipe to meet my needs. The original called for whole tomatoes and had you squeeze out all of the juice and throw out the tomatoes. To me, this didn't sound right - first, it seemed the sauce would be too thin and second, it seemed like a waste of good tomatoes - so I substituted from the beginning with crushed tomatoes and use the whole thing. Same thing with the bread, I didn't read the recipe ahead of time, so I didn't have time to allow my bread to dry overnight. As such, I resorted to the way I incorporated the bread in my other meatball recipe, which was to dampen it, squeeze it out and tear it into the bowl. You get more bread pieces this way, but it is also less dry than a "bread crumb" filler that you would get by grating.

For more make ahead meals, check out the Ultimate Recipe Swap Make Ahead Meals edition, over at Life As Mom.

This recipe also shared at The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Weighing It Out

When I joined Weight Watchers two months ago, one of my concerns was how I was going to succeed on program without becoming a short order cook. I wanted to continue to make the same variety of meals that we had always eaten, only perhaps a little healthier. I also didn't want to be spending oodles of time in the kitchen portioning out my food; when it was dinner time, I wanted to be able to sit down with my family.

One of the tools that has been instrumental in my success on Weight Watchers this time around has been my kitchen scale. I find that it is a lot easier to simply place my plate on the scale and build my meal by weight. Sure, I could pull out a measuring cup and measure out 1 c of cereal or 1/4 c of cheese or 1/2 c of chicken, but as you can start to see, I would be constantly washing measuring cups and it would take a lot of time. Plus, one time, shortly after I purchased my scale, I contacted a cereal manufacturer to find out which measurement for portion was more accurate - the volume or the weight. They told me the weight was and that the volume could vary slightly based on how the cereal filled the cup. Since Points are calculated based on the calories, fat and fiber listed for that serving, I felt it was best to weigh things when I could.

So, as an example, when I am having burritos for dinner, I place a plate with my burrito shell on it on the scale. Then I add my 2 oz of chicken. Tare the scale and add 15g of light sour cream. Tare the scale and add 1 oz of cheese. The vegetables are all "free" (at least in the range of portion you would build on a burrito) so then I load it up with some lettuce, tomatoes and onions. It not only makes it quick and easy to assemble my plate, but makes it easier for me to calculate and record my points. With eTools, they let you enter in cups, ounces, grams, tablespoon, etc., so I have the flexibility to measure things the way that works for me.

Over time, I have started putting on my plate what feels like the right portion and then see how close I am to what I think it is. This helps me get a better feel for what food servings look like, making it easier for me to eyeball my food when I am away from home, because now I have a visual feel for what 1 oz of cheese or 2 oz of chicken looks like.

With the help of my scale, I have been able to continue to prepare the same family favorites and enjoy dinner with my family. The only difference is not the food is scaled to a healthier portion. That works for me.

For more that works, check out Works For Me Wednesday. (Of course, now I see that this was supposed to be Holiday Themed, so check out my post on saving money at the holidays here.)

CVS Coupon $5/$30

CVS is offering another coupon for completing a quiz. This time it is on Medicare Part D. Complete the quiz and you can print a coupon for $5/$30.

Attention Kohl's Charge Customers

Did you look at all of the leaflets that came in your Kohl's bill this month? I normally have a tendency to just throw them all out without looking very closely at the ads included with my monthly statment. Boy, am I glad that I looked this month, one of the leaflets was a $10 off of $10 coupon for loyal Kohl's customers.

That is great. I have some Kohl's Cash from the last sale and a 15% off coupon, so I guess I will need to do some shopping for some free stuff!

Target Toy Coupons

I came upon these coupons last night. They appear to be on Target's site, so I have no reason to believe they are altered or otherwise invalid. I say this, because last year there was an altered coupon for Target. If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know.

I tested it this morning using the online coupon code and it worked. The coupons are good through November 25th.

Thanks!

Target Holiday Toy Coupons

Don't forget, there are family game coupons and toy coupons available through Hasbro.com and on coupons.com. These will stack to make some great deals.

Menu Plan Monday

I didn't really make a trip to the grocery this weekend. I stopped today and picked up 2 gallons of milk, but that was it. My daughter's birthday is this week and her party next weekend. I will probably head to the store mid-week to pick up all of the ingredients I will need. I plan to make a full turkey feast for her party, complete with all of the fixings. The theme of her party is Abby Cadabby. I will be sure to come back and post pictures of the cake next week.

At our house, the focus is on dinners. I tend to only list the main course and any standard side we have with it. We do still have vegetables and/or fruit with each of our dinners, I just don't always call them out.

Sunday
Cereal
CiCi's Pizza Buffet
Popcorn Shrimp

Monday
Cheeseburgers

Tuesday
Breakfast for Dinner, including Homemade Hash Browns

Wednesday
Pasta

Thursday
Pork Chops

Friday
Pizza

Saturday
Cereal
Sandwiches
Turkey dinner, complete with stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, dinner rolls and more.

Weekdays breakfast is at daycare for my daughter, the rest of us eat cold cereal, frozen waffles, oatmeal, toast or whatever strikes our fancy. Lunch we pack, usually leftovers for me.

Check out other menu plans for the week at Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.

General Mills Cereals - Free Movies & Giveaway

I have always enjoyed going to the theater to see a movie. I have many memories as a child of going to the movies with my parents. My mom would frequently take us to Tuesday night matinees (they don't do that anymore, do they?). I can remember seeing movies like Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and ET with my family. We almost always shared a stick of SweetTarts during the movie. I remember trips to the drive-in, with a brown grocery bag full of popcorn. I have so many memories of movies that seeing a movie at the theater (or drive-in) is an experience that I love to share with my children. My son's first movie at the theater was Curious George. For my daughter, it was Kung Fu Panda (she didn't choose this one and slept the last 1/2 hour, but it was her first movie at the theater). We watch a lot of movies at home, but a trip to the theater makes it all a little more magical.

General Mills has a great new promotion starting up this month where you can receive FREE movie tickets when you buy 2 specially marked packages of General Mills Cereals. Participating brands include select sizes of: Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Trix and Reese’s Peanut Butter Puffs.

Here's how it works:

-Buy 2 boxes of the General Mills specially marked packages
-Look inside the box for the special code.
-Go to Generalmills.com/moviecash and enter your two codes.
-You can then print your free movie certificate (e-movie cash) or receive it by e-mail, which is good for admission to any movie.

Some of the details:
Codes need to be entered by June 30, 2010
Free movie certificates are good for one admission up to $12.
Certificates expire 60 days from the date they are issued.
You can find a participating theater HERE.
Go HERE for a list of FAQs about this promotion.

What a great way to enjoy a family movie day out on the cheap. If you are like my family, we eat cereal almost every day for breakfast, so it is something that we are buying anyway. If you are fortunate to be able to buy the cereal on a sale with coupons, it only makes the deal that much better. Be sure to be on the lookout for specially marked passages next time you are at the grocery.

Courtesy of General Mills and My Blog Spark, my family received a "Movie Moment" prize pack, including 4 e-movie cash certificates and a coupon for a free box of cereal, so that we could check it out. We haven't had the chance to use the movie cash yet, but probably will use it to enjoy a family movie during the upcoming holiday season. There are always a number of family shows in theaters during that time. Who knows, maybe we will make that part of our family holiday tradition.

Giveaway
Thanks to General Mills and My Blog Spark, I have the opportunity to share a Movie Moment prize pack with one A Busy Mom of Two reader.

The winner will receive four e-movie cash certificates, which are redeemable for four FREE movie tickets (up to $12.50 value/each). In addition, you will receive a coupon for a FREE box of General Mills Cereal.

How to enter:

Primary entry - Leave a comment sharing your favorite family movie moment. Maybe it was the first movie you saw, or the first movie you saw on a date with your spouse, or the first movie you took your child to.

Bonus entries -
Follow me on Twitter (@ABusyMomofTwo) and tweet about this giveaway. Can be done once per day, be sure to leave a separate comment for each tweet.

Sign up for daily updates by RSS feed or e-mail. Leave me a comment letting me know you subscribe.

Add my button to your sidebar or my blog to blog roll. Leave me a comment letting me know you did, with a link to your blog.

Post about this giveaway on your blog with a link back. Leave a comment letting me know you blogged, with a link to your post.

Giveaway will remain open until Tuesday, November 10th at 9 pm Eastern. Winner will be selected using a random number generator. Winner will be contacted by e-mail and have 36 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

I did not receive any compensation for this post, but did receive my own Movie Moment prize pack to enjoy a movie with my family.

CVS Scenarios - week of 11/1

Wow! It's November already! There are a number of deals this week at CVS.

Transaction #1
2 - Ricola
1 - Nyquil
1 - Robitussin
1 - Sudafed

-$2 BOGO Berry Ricola Free
-$1.50 Nyquil Mfg coupon
-$.50 Nyquil CVS Flu Book coupon
-$2 Robitussin Mfg coupon
-$2 Sudafed Mfg coupon

Total $12.50. Earn $10 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Tums EX
2 - Oral B Stages
2 - Oral B Indicator Manual Brushes

-$2 Tums CVS Flu Book coupon
-$1 Oral B Stages Mfg coupon
-$1 Oral B Stages Mfg coupon
-$.75 $.75/2 Oral B Mfg coupon

Total $10. Pay with $10 ECBs from Transaction #1, earn $1 and $5 ECBs.

Transaction #3
1 - Listerine

-$2 Listerine Total Care Mfg coupon
-$1 Listerine CVS Flu Book coupon

Total $.99. Pay with $1 ECB from Transaction #2, adjusted down to $.99. Earn $1 ECB.

Transaction #4
1 - Soft Soap Ensembles
1 - Soft Soap Ensembles Refill

-$3 Soft Soap Ensemble and Refill Mfg coupon
-$1 Soft Soap Ensembles CVS Flu Book coupon

Total 7.98. Pay with $1 and $5 ECBs from Transaction #2 and #3 and $1.98 OOP, earn $4 ECBs.

Total OOP $14.48 with $4 ECBs left to roll. A net cost of $10.48 for over $51 in product (80% savings).

For more deals and scenarios, check out Money Saving Mom , the "Cent"sible Sawyer and Deal Seeking Mom.

CVS $5 Challenge

Transaction #1
1 - Gillette Custom 3 disposable razor

-$2 Gillette Mfg coupon

Total $3.99 OOP. Earn $2 ECBs.

Transaction #2
1 - Tums EX

-$2 Tums CVS Flu Book coupon

Total $1.99. Pay with $2 ECBs from Transaction #1, reduced to $1.99, earn $1 ECB.

Transaction #3
1 - Listerine

-$2 Listerine Total Care Mfg coupon
-$1 Listerine CVS Flu Book coupon

Total $.99. Pay with $1 ECB from Transaction #2, adjusted down to $.99. Earn $1 ECB.

Total OOP $3.99, with $1 ECB left to roll. For more $5 Scenarios, check out the CVS $5 Challenge at Keeping the Kingdom First.