Farmland Contest: Enter to Win a Sears Kitchen

I love being able to enter for a possible new kitchen!!! Join me in this wonderful kitchen contest from Farmland!

Crawford Designs

I have to take a moment to brag about mia familia. I am blessed to have the good fortune of having a sister-in-law who has a wonderful design site and tremendous products! She is a gifted artist, talented instructor and the list just goes on and on...

She is amazing and it is fun to have watched her skills and talents develop over all of these years.

Here are just a few of her new items on her site, but there is so much more. Check out her site and see for yourself...CrawfordDesigns.

Holiday Shopping On A Budget

I read a wonderful post this morning from Jane4girls about how to shop during the holidays on a budget and one of her points stuck in my head. Check out her posting for yourself...

My DH and I were able to spend a great evening out together, first a winter dinner at a local restaurant with the Bovina Lions Club and then a really romantic stroll with my DH through the home improvement aisles of Lowes...(yes, we have been married over 19 years and I really do think it is romantic!!!).

Then I spied a huge banner over the gift cards at the front of the store. Receive $10 gift certificate when you purchase over $100 in gift cards. Hmmmm....

So we had just returned over $300 in the wrong style of door knobs for the house and my DH had over $140 of items in the cart, just a couple of quick questions to the clerk and my DH agreed to 'try' my giftcard purchase suggestion.

As Jane said, if you are going to be purchasing items anyway at a store with an offer on their giftcards, then just purchase the giftcard beforehand and use it for your purchase.

So I had hubby by a giftcard for $140 and then turned around and used it for our purchase of over $156 in Lowes items. Pretty good, from the details on the receipt I could then just go home and register online in order to receive my giftcard good for $10 off of a future $10 or greater purchase at Lowes. Works for me...

Keep an eye out for similar deals at your local stores. From what I read at Lowe's website, I am eligible to do this up to two additional times for a total of $30 in giftcards, we'll have to see what other major purchase needs come our way...

It's Almost That Time....

Can you feel the excitement in the air?!? I am not talking about the turkey and trimmings for Thanksgiving....

It's almost time for Black Friday!!!

If you have never experienced this unique phenomenon it is truly something that everyone should be exposed to at least once in their lifetime.

I remember several times that my mother and I have gotten up at around 4:30 to 5:00am just to go to a store and stand in line...to nab the tremendous sale items. The unique thing is that we are never alone. Usually there are hundreds of others sharing the bitterly cold moment with us.

I have the tremendous pleasure of being able to experience this unique opportunity with my mother once again. We will be traveling to my parents for the thanksgiving holidays and I can't wait to see if there is something that we need to plan and grab at the earliest shopping hours...

I must check out Kohl's ad, they have been the best the last few years for really nice savings and gifts...

Check it out and plan your trip.

Black Friday

SunMaid Free Recipe Books

There are some wonderful Free recipe booklets available through sunmaid raisins. I love these recipes and have used several. Order a set for yourself or a special friend. Enjoy!!!
Free Recipe Booklets


Fruit & Sunshine
Naturally Healthy Raisin Recipes


The New Taste of Tradition
Our classic recipes with a new twist!


Recipes for Healthier Eating
Good food that's good for you, too.


Fall Favorites

Celebrate Fall Festivities with Gooseberry Patch.

Family Favorite Recipes
From the popular Gooseberry Patch collection.


Get a free copy of any Sun-Maid recipe booklet. Just click on the booklet you want and enter your mailing address.


Video Library

Thanksgiving Freebies For The Whole Family To Enjoy!!!

Thanksgiving is a special time of year for me and my family. My DH and my anniversary is right around this time of year, plus my mother's birthday and my parent's anniversary. So alot to celebrate, plus it is just a great time of year to get together with all of your loved ones...

Here is a really neat posting over at The Freebie Blogger, organized by Wendi, check it out and grab some of the really neat things for you and your family!!!

Are We The Only Family That Loves Whole Wheat?

Not every family loves to eat whole wheat, but our family does...So I love it when I can receive a coupon on whole wheat flour or some really good receipes. Well, Betty Crocker has heard our needs and you too can click and grab a really nice FREE recipes book with whole wheat flour recipes. Just for the clicking and printing. I am impressed, it is a simple book with some really neat recipes that I will have to try.

My littlest toddler son, loves to just grab a slice of whole wheat bread for his afternoon snack. Works for me...

Betty Crocker Whole Wheat Recipes

Great Coupons Everyday

Add this listing to your favorites and always check it before you go shopping!!!

It is a really neat list of printable coupons available for so many items. Check it out...

Coupons, Inc.

And The Love Keeps On Rolling Around...

It's amazing how competitive websites are for advertising. If you haven't already signed up at Betty Crocker for their coupons and specials, then now is a great time. They are also offering a really neat and FREE Coupon book with over $10 of coupons and great new recipes for new subscribers to their site. So click away for a really good deal!!!

Betty Crocker

From Dates to Diapers

Check out this really neat site for some helpful hints and Christmas shopping guides.

Black Friday

You might be wondering what in the heck is 'Black Friday'. Well, I was educated about this great phenomena last year. Basically, Black Friday is the sales day after Thanksgiving. If you are like me, sometimes you can get some great buys for the holidays. Some of the stores like to release the info about what they plan on advertising beforehand, therefore giving customers a jump on your purchase plans. This is wonderful!!!

The sales releases are starting to roll in... Right now they have received notices from Sears and Ace Hardware about what to expect. As always, the items could change somewhat based on your region or their last minute adjustments based on their competition...Better to start planning now on what your priorities might be.

Check it out...

Sears Black Friday
Ace Hardware Black Friday

Sales Cycles/Very Important Information!!!

A tremendous way to start raking in the savings is to be aware of when all of the sales cycles hit the scene. Hot coupon world is a wonderful site and they have taken the time to list out the most typical items with a monthly breakdown. Check it out and keep it on file, you will be surprised how handy it can be... Sales Cycles

Holiday Butter Recipe Card Request

Click on this link to request your own copy of a booklet which will give you eight holiday recipes using Real Butter.

http://www.wisdairy.com/OtherDairyProductInfo/Butter/SpecialOffers/Holiday2008/recipes.aspx

Just in time for the holiday season...

Glasses On The Cheap

Don't ask me where I found this link, but it is wonderful!!!

If you are overwhelmed with the cost of glasses or know of someone who could use a more economical alternative, then check this out.

Amazing prices, for quality products. Realistically you just need to have your prescription info to complete your order.

This is a legitimate site, so check it out and see for yourself.

http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php

Free Mazagines

Shhhh, keep this quiet....

I just have to tell everyone about a little secret that I am kinda' apprehensive about sharing. But it's been so much fun, that I thought you might want to get in on the action also.

I have found that this website is excellent for getting postings for really nice free magazines. What is the catch, right? No seriously, they are free and they have been wonderful, I am currently overflowing with free magazines. I love all of them, I would never in a million years subscribe to them, too expensive, but I love the beautiful pictures and the awesome articles.

I am presently getting about 8 magazines for free with no harassing phone calls, emails, subscription notices, etc.

What I have found out is that certain magazines sometimes need to boost their readership numbers and therefore for limited times they will open up prescriptions to additional members for free, no catch, no harassment and I find that I get them pretty swiftly after signing up.

What I have done is added the budget helpers blog address to my google reader as a subscription then when I see that she has posted a new free magazine, I quickly click and sign up. No more than that.

http://budgethelpers.blogspot.com/

Check it out. I just signed up to start receiving 'The Magazine Antiques' yesterday for a one year subscription. Here is the link. I think it is closed now, but go ahead and see....http://budgethelpers.blogspot.com/2008/09/another-magazine-antiques-free-sub.html

Pick Your Own

In light of the recent economic changes that we will probably all be facing, I have happened upon a wonderful site. It will help you identify local farms, orchards, plots where you can pick your own produce, Christmas trees, etc.

Not too many around my area of the country, but I will see what might pop up here and there.

Several of the farms make it a family affair and you can really score some terrific fresh produce, veggies, fruit, nuts, etc.

It also has some great links on home canning, gardening, etc.

Check it out...http://www.pickyourown.org/