Good Deals

I love a good deal. This week at Walgreens certain brands are on sale for buy one get one half off. Well, had I gone yesterday they would have been buy one get one free because they were programmed wrong into the register. However, buy one get one half off isn't a bad deal either especially when you combine it with $2.00 off coupons. This past Sunday's newspaper had $2.00 off coupons for Lubriderm, Aveeno, Clean and Clear. I was also able to print off more here and I had some wonderful friends who printed coupons and clipped some for me too. All of what you see pictured below would have cost me $91.07. Any guesses as to what I paid for it? Drum roll please.......$27.54! And, there is a rebate for select Johnson & Johnson products that can be found here as well as in last Sunday's paper. The rebate says if you buy $30 worth of select products you can get a $10 rebate. Well, it wasn't until I got home that I realized it said $30 worth not spend $30. So, I might take back some of the lotion because I really don't need a 2 year supply of it. But, then again, a good deal is a good deal and maybe I can gift some of it away. Real quick I want to thank Deal Seeking Mom and A Thrifty Mom for helping me find such great deals.

Knit Yourself Thin

I read an article the other day I found online and it said you could burn 500 calories in an afternoon of knitting. I think they figured you burned 100 calories per hour. Who knew my new hobby would be so good for my weight. So, now I feel I can justify the days I don't go to the gym because I want to stay home and knit. I didn't gain any weight over Christmas Break and it must have been because I was feverishly knitting hats for all of my friends. Now I'm working like a crazy woman to finish the Mystery Afghan I'm doing with the Bernat blog and making baby blankets, hats, and booties for my pregnant friends. I'm not just a couch potato anymore, I'm a knitting, calorie burning machine.

This picture is of a square I'm making for my afghan. It is my first time doing such elaborate cables. It took me about 3 hours to get that far (still learning remember) so, I figure I burned 300 calories and by the time I finish it I will probably have worked for another 2 hours so, this is a 500 calorie square for me. And, I'm not snacking while my hands are busy so that is an added benefit too.

If you are interested in learning how to knit, I highly recommend You tube's Knit Witch and the book Kids Can do it Knitting.

Bike Riding

My son learned how to ride a bike with out training wheels just after he turned 4. He got his first pair of roller blades at 5. I would not be surprised if I saw him in the X games when he is older. However, it still makes me cringe when I see videos like this one. This rider is amazing at what he does. It wasn't until half way through that I was brave enough to watch with both eyes open. So enjoy, and one day this might by my son.

Beef Picadillo Tostadas

This is a new recipe I have added to my rotation. The adults loved it and 1 out of 4 kids liked it. The 3 that didn't like it ate the tostada shell and their fruit and picked at everything else. I think I'll keep it in the rotation for a little bit longer and change things up with the change of seasons. I got the recipe from one of the 29 Minutes to Dinner cookbooks Pampered Chef sells. It took me a little longer to make it but that was because it was the first time. I'm confident my next time I'll be right around 29 minutes to make it. I omitted the olives because Dad doesn't like them.

1 lb 90% lean ground beef

2 C. thinly sliced romaine lettuce
1 medium onion

1 ½ C. grape tomatoes
4 garlic cloves, pressed

½ C. snipped fresh cilantro
1 jar (16 oz) salsa

8 tostadas
1 Can (2.25 oz) sliced pitted ripe olives, drained

2 oz queso fresco cheese, crumbled
½ C. golden raisins

Add beef to 10-in skillet; cook over medium high heat 5-6 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking into crumbles. Chop onion. Add onion and pressed garlic to skillet; cook 3-4 minutes or until onion is crisp-tender. Ad salsa, olives and raisins; cook 2-3 minutes or until heated through.
Meanwhile, thinly slice lettuce and cut tomatoes in half. Snip cilantro. Top tostada shells with lettuce, beef mixture, tomatoes, cheese and cilantro.

Baking Soda: Not just for Baking

Your house is full of everyday household heroes, products that have a beneficial secondary use. I have written previously about Vinegar. Baking Soda is also a very handy item to have on hand. The best part is it is inexpensive to purchase. You are probably familiar with baking soda when it comes to baking but here are some other ways you can put your baking soda to use.

• Unclog drains by pouring 1 cup of baking soda followed by 1 cup hot vinegar. Let sit for 30 minutes and then run water.
  
• Use it as a mouthwash,sorry, no minty fresh breath but you will have less bacteria.
  
• Clean your toothbrushes, especially after being sick, by soaking them overnight in 1/4 cup baking soda and 1/4 cup water solution.
  
• If you have a grease fire don't dump water on it. Dump baking soda on it to extinguish it.
  
• Great deodorizer for your freezer or fridge. Open the box and put it in. It will last up to 30 days. You can even purchase specially made boxes for the fridge or freezer.
  
• Run an empty dishwasher with baking soda to clean up hard water and other buildup.
  
• Don't want to spend lots of money for expensive jewelry cleaner? Just make a paste out of baking soda and water. It is perfectly safe on gold and silver.
  
• Help reduce kitty litter odor by putting a layer of baking soda in the bottom of the pan and then pouring the litter on top.
  Or, make your own litter by mixing baking soda with 3 inches of sandy clay.
  
• Relieve bug bites, sunburn, and poison ivy by making a paste and applying it directly to the sore.
  
• Scrub out your bathtub and sink by sprinkling it on the grime and then wiping with a sponge.
  
• add 1/4 cup baking soda to the toilet bowl, swirl, and scrub.
  
• If you don't have any antacids to fight heartburn? Make your own by combining 1/2 tsp. baking soda with 1/2 cup of water.
  
• If you have cracks in your side walk or drive way sprinkle baking soda to keep weeds at bay.
  
• baking soda is less corrosive then salt so sprinkle it on your icy side walk.
  
• Keep ants out of the dog/cat bowl by sprinkling a layer of soda around the bowl.

How to Avoid Junk -Email

I received an email with the following and thought it was excellent advice and rather than forward it on to people I'm sharing it here.

A friend who is a computer expert received the following directly from a system administrator for a corporate system. It is an excellent message that ABSOLUTELY applies to ALL of us who send emails. Please read the letter below, even if you're sure you already follow proper procedures. Do you really know how to forward emails? 50% of us do; 50% DO NOT. (I think more like 20%--80%). Do you wonder why you get viruses or junk mail? Do you hate it? Every time you forward an email, there is information left over from the people who got the message before you, namely their email addresses and names.. As the messages get forwarded along, the list of addresses builds, and builds, and builds, and all it takes is for some poor sap to get a virus, and his or her computer can send that virus to every email address that has come across his computer. Or, someone can take all of those addresses and sell them or send junk mail to them in the hopes that you will go to the site and he will make five cents for each hit. That's right, all of that inconvenience over a nickel. How do you stop it? Well, there are several easy steps. Try the following if you haven't done it before:

(1) When you forward an email, DELETE all of the other addresses that appear in the body of the message (at the top). That's right, DELETE them. Highlight them and delete them, backspace them, cut them, whatever it is you know how to do. It only takes a second. You MUST click the 'Forward' button first and then you will have full editing capabilities against the body and headers of the message. If you don't click on 'Forward' first, you won't be able to edit the message at all.

(2) Whenever you send an email to more than one person, DO NOT use the To: or Cc:fields for adding email addresses. Always use the BCC: (blind carbon copy) field for listing the email addresses. This way the people you send to will only see their own email address. If you don't see your BCC option, click on where it says To: and your address list will appear. Highlight the address and choose BCC: and that's it, it's that easy. When you send to BCC: your message will automatically say 'Undisclosed Recipients' or the principal addressee in the 'TO:' field of the people who receive it.

(3) Remove any 'FW:' in the subject line. You can re-name the subject if you wish or even fix spelling.

(4) ALWAYS hit your Forward button from the actual email you are reading. Ever get those emails that you have to open 10 pages to read the one page with the information on it? By forwarding from the actual page you wish someone to view, you stop them from having to open many e-mails just to see what you sent.

(5) Have you ever gotten an email that is a petition? It states a position and asks you to add your name and address and to forward it to 10 or 15 people or your entire address book. The email can be forwarded on and on and can collect thousands of names and email addresses.

A FACT: The completed petition is actually worth a couple of bucks to a professional spammer because of the wealth of valid names and email addresses contained therein. DO NOT put your email address on any petition. If you want to support the petition, send it as your own personal letter to the intended recipient. Your position will carry more weight as a personal letter than a laundry list of names and email address on a petition. (And don't believe the ones that say that the email is being traced, it just isn't so!) Some of the other emails to DELETE and NOT forward are:

1. The one that says something like, 'Send this email to 10 people and you will see something great run across your screen.' Or sometimes they'll just tease you by saying 'something really cute will happen. 'IT ISN'T GONNA HAPPEN!!!!! (We are still seeing some of the same emails that we waited on 10 years ago!)

2 Don't let the bad luck ones scare you either; delete them, they are trash.

3. Before you forward an 'Amber Alert', or a 'Virus Alert', or some of the other emails floating around nowadays, check them out. Most of them are junk mail that's been circling the net for YEARS! Just about everything you receive in an email that is in question can be checked out at Snopes. Just go to www.truthorfiction.com . It's really easy to find out if it's real or not. If it's not, please don't pass it on..

4. Before sending the email scroll down to the bottom and remove ALL the build up of 'Virus Protection Messages' and other advertising that get tacked on each time an email gets forwarded. So please, in the future, let's stop the junk mail and the viruses.

New Year New Resolutions

It's a new year so you have new resolutions right? Well, if you are me the only thing true about that statement is, it's a new year. My resolutions are still the same as they were last year. That is because I didn't quite achieve all of my resolutions. In fact, the only one I remember is my resolution to lose weight and that is because it is the same every year because I fail miserably every year. This year is going to be different I just know it. It is going to be a great year. I have two big milestones in my life to look forward too, I'm turning 30 and celebrating my ten year anniversary married to the love of my life. I wish the Black Eyed Peas would change the lyrics of their song I Gotta a Feelin to "this year is gonna be a good year". If you are like me you need some tips on having resolutions you can stick to so, here are a few tips for creating New Year Resolutions that you can keep.

The first thing you want to do is choose obtainable resolutions. If your resolution is to run a 5 minute mile and you are extremely overweight you probably won't be able to keep your resolution. A goal to run a mile is more realistic and can, with a lot of work be achieved with in a year.

Break down larger goals into little goals to help you achieve the big one. So, if you want to run a 5 minute mile make sure you can run a mile first.

Write your resolutions down and place them somewhere you can see them everyday as a reminder. If it is not written down it will be forgotten.

Work on your resolutions daily. Many resolutions are a "work in progress" like weight loss and getting organized. Do something daily to help you reach your end result.

Some resolutions are deeply personal but share the ones that are not with another person who can support you in your goal. Working towards a goal with someone who shares it also makes it easier.

It is never too late to start and if you break them start them up again.