We have a winner!!

Go here to see for yourself! My DD won 2nd place!! $300 to use towards education. Yeah!! Thanks to all that took the time to vote! Without you, she could not have done it!

Weekend Deals....

Facebook Heluva Good! become a fan on Facebook and click on promotions. You can sign up for a free coupon of Heluva Good Dip

Latest Samples, Coupons & Sweepstakes from P&GbrandSAMPLER - P&G Everyday Solutions - pampers sample

Print Your Coupon - $1.25 off Yoplait Smoothie - printable coupon

Friday Favorites and Freebies.....

I have decided to that each Friday I will post a few of my favorite things along with a few freebies. Enjoy....

My Favorite Drink - I live on this stuff right now!

Sane Women's Guide to Raising a Large Family - I have always loved reading about large families. Mary tells you how she does it. I knew my limit was 2 kids. Mary has 10!


Great Backyard Bird Count — Great Backyard Bird Count - join the great backyard bird count Feb. 12 - 15. We love watching birds in our yard!

Home - Groundhog Day - great site for Ground Hog Day fans. This is a great Pennsylvania tradition.

Mr Bubble Valentines free printable valentines

Special K printable B1G1F coupon! Don't forget to hit the back button on your browser to print a 2nd one!

Free Samples & Coupons - Free Shake & Savings on Six Pack - Ensure - get a coupon for a free bottle on Ensure

Box Tops for Education - get a free sample of Avery Labels

Schoolastic - free book with proofs of purchase from Pampers

Last Chance Votes....

Last 2 days to vote. Winner will be announced on Saturday. If you have not already, would you please take a moment of your time to go here and vote for #9. My daughter has such high hopes for winning this. We can not do it without your help. Thank you so much for helping her out!

Wednesday deals and a review....

Here is my DS loving life with his favorite breakfast cereal and his favorite breakfast beverage. He is not a milk drinker so this is how I fill him with calcium! Go here for our complete review.

Kraft - high value printable coupons from Kraft

Walmart.com - Benefiber Orange - free sample

Healthy Bedtime Habits Program for Parents and Kids Colgate - sign up for this program and earn a free toothbrush for your child. It is to promote kids washing their hands, brushing their teeth and a having a bedtime story.

post it - printable post it coupon

I received 4 Free VIP coupons, online coupon link, and information from General Mills and MyBlogSpark to post this product review.

My Frugal Idol.....

I never subscribed to her newsletter because I was unaware of it at the time but, I have read her book several times and it will always and forever be in my home library. Amy Dacyczyn from The Tightwad Gazette will forever be my frugal idol. Do I live as tight or as frugal as she does? Not even close. There have been many many ideas from her book that I have adapted into my own life though. She has helped me save a ton of money over the years. It is not about being poor or doing without. It is about stretching your money farther and finding cheaper ways to get what you want. Finding ways to get more out of every buck.

Friday, my DD and I stopped at our local Goodwill store. She wrinkles her nose when I pull in the parking lot and was very embarrassed to see kids from school in the store too. BUT.. she was very happy to come home with 2 pairs of designer jeans for $6 each. Aeropastle and Hollister! Shhhh... please do not tell her friends, you may embarrass her even more.

Enjoy this video I found posted at this blog.




Here is a link to Amy's book. In true frugal style, try your local library before purchasing this book. I have my own copy that I bartered for several years ago.

Monday's Deals.....

Frugal Finds From your Frugal Friend: Drawing Contest Finalist!! - please check out this post and vote for my daughter - #9. We hoping to this to make her gymnastic lessons a little frugal.

Kashi : Let’s make 2010 the year of eating healthier. Try a free sample of Kashi. - free sample

Post Whole-Grain Cereals: Natural Fiber and Antioxidant Foods - printable $2.00 off 1 cereal coupon

Jolly Time Promotions - free grocery tote with 3 proofs of purchase

Scotties Facial Tissue - Savings - register and get a $1.00 coupon

Prilosec OTC Guarantee - free after mail in rebate

The Baby Einstein™ DVD Guarantee buy Baby Einstein DVD's last year? If you did, you will want to check out this money back guarantee. No receipts needs.

http://ebm.cheetahmail.com/r/regf2?aid=1385098083&a=0&n=31&CUSTOM_2 - printable coupon for The Limited. $15 off $15!!

Facebook Oreo - become a fan of Oreo on Facebook now then come back at 3:pm today to get a free package of Oreo's! First 150,000 get free Oreo's.

Free Kids Craft....

We are once again signed up for the free kids workshop at Lowes for this Saturday. I thought this project would be great for vacations. What a great thing to play in a hotel room and in the car! I just have to hide it until vacation so the dog does not chew up the small pieces! LOL

Want to sign up too? Go here to do it. You are just a few clicks away from enjoying this free craft too!

Friday Freebies....

Please Vote - could you please take a minute to vote for #9 in this drawing contest? It is my daughter's drawing.

3M US: Scotch-Brite Cleaning Products - Clean Sweeps Registration enter to win free maid service for a year. Now that is my kind of prize!

Kerasal Foot Care – Treatment for Cracked Heels Calluses Dry Feet - free sample

Wash Them Grow with Suave Kids Body Wash - enter to win and then print coupons

Registration - Printable coupon for single serve cough medicine. I would love to try these but am sure hoping I do not need to!

Print Your Coupon - $5 off a home pregnancy test - printable.

Annie's - 50 cent printable coupon. I got a box of this free recently after writing an email to the company and telling them how much we loved their product. My DD thought it was the best mac and cheese ever!

Drawing Contest Finalist!!

We are a finalist!!!!

Will you please take a moment to click here and vote for entry #9.

The winner is the finalist that has the most votes. The winner will get $1000 toward education. That includes sports classes and art supplies!!

Thanks for your help!!!

Wednesday's Freebies....

Olay - free after this printable mail in rebate

Bausch & Lomb ReNu® Multi-Purpose Solution Coupons - printable $2 off Renu. I use these at Target in the travel size section to get free saline solution!

Free Ebook: Thriving on Less – Simplifying in a Tough Economy - free E-book to download

Method Soap - cheap pump soap at Target with this printable coupon

Bath & Body Works - printable coupon for a free item with purchase

BreatheRight - free sample - I hear these are great for congestion. I need to try it on my son who can not take cold medicine. I am not sure he would keep this on though.

Homemade Bird Suet.....

Over Christmas vacation, my husband made his own bird suet. He has been saving fat from meat cuts we buy plus he bought 2 packs of fat at the local grocery store for 95 cents each. He set up his work station outside on the grill so the smell of the melting fat would not fill the house.

Once the fat is melted he added some very cheap bird seed he bought in bulk and dried berries from our yard seen here.

He then poured the hot fat mixture into tray we saved for $1.00 frozen meal. By setting it on the snow, the trays did not melt when the hot suet mix was poured into them. He left them there to harden for a little while.

This is what the finished suet looked like. the large pieces were cut in half to fit into out suet holders. We had 7 blocks of suet when he was finished. Next time he would buy more fat at the grocery store to make a larger batch. A larger batch would also bring down the costs.

Cost of Home Made Suet

purchased fat - $1.90

saved fat from meat cuts - free

bird seed - $.50

dried berries - free

Total = 2.40

That brings it to just over 32 cents per suet bar.

The cheapest I ever see them in the store is about 69 cents at the scratch and dent store. These were more than half the price. This will last us through the rest of the winter.

Tuesday Freebies....

Free Coupons Organic Coupons - sign up and get great coupons in your snail mail

Sunbelt Free Kicks Coupon - great printable coupon

Skincare, cosmetics, haircare, haircolor, hair styling and men's line : L'Oréal Paris - free sample

Rite Aid - print this $5 off $25 coupon

Friday.....

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Self-Sufficient Living - great new book

Borders Coupons - 30jan01wk3 33% off at Borders with this printable coupon

Prairie Tale: A Memoir - I am reading this book now and just can not stand to put it down. I give it 2 thumbs up.

Bounce Dryer Bar - 2 Month Outdoor Fresh, 44-Use Box Carton and Plastic Clamshell (Pack of 6) - I was sent a high value coupon from the company to try this dryer bar months ago. I was very skeptical about it but ended up buying it anyway since I could try it very cheap with the coupon. That was 3 months ago. Today I can tell you, I love this thing! I am just now at the point of having to replace it. I love not having to think about dryer sheets! It is much cheaper that liquid fabric softener too! I hang laundry outside for 6 months out of the year. The other 6 months, I will be using this dryer bar for my form of fabric softener. I would buy this even without a coupon!!

I get a small percentage of all sales from Amazon whenyou link through this blog. All opinions are truthfully mine though.

Lots of freebies....

Nursery® Water - Fluoride in Water, Distilled Drinking Water - free tote bag

Dove® Dimensions Dove® Beauty Matchmaker - play 3 times daily to win a free Dove product

Coupon - Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet - printable coupon for a free taco

Print Your Coupon 50 cent printable coupon for frozen veggies

Cream of Wheat - free sample

Sam's Club – GLAD ForceFlex 13-Gallon and 33-Gallon Trash Bags - free sample

Poise® Free Samples and Offers: Bladder Control Protection Products - free sample

Mariani Dried Plums-America’s Superfruit - free sample of dried plums. Use code SUPERFRUIT

Frugal and Healthy Semi-Homemade Pizza

In our quest to eat healthier, we are looking for new ways to get family friendly healthy into our life. Who wants to live on salad? Not us! Pizza is a kid favorite in our house. This is my attempt to make a healthy version. I am no gourmet cook so this is my attempt. Here is what I bought......

1 pack of whole wheat pizza crust (2 crusts) - $3.98

1 can of sauce (2 are pictured but I only used 1 - $.98

canned mushrooms - $.25 at scratch and dent store

low fat cheese - on sale $1.50

slice of turkey bacon (not pictured) - $.25

onions - free from garden

green peppers - free from garden (frozen)

pureed carrots mixture to add to sauce - free from garden produce

Total = $6.96 for 2 pizzas

This was the kids plain cheese pizza. No complaints about the whole wheat crust. They did not even really notice that it was different.

This is the adult pizza. Half with just turkey bacon and the other half with turkey bacon, onions, mushrooms and green peppers. This was also enough to serve 1 person for a 2nd night.

It passed the test! We all liked it pretty well. Was it as good as pizza shop pizza? NO! BUT... it was still enjoyable and much healthier! I think we will do this again. I had enough to serve this a 2nd night by just adding a few healthy side like side salads and fresh fruit to round out the meal. It certainly was frugal!

We Are THAT Family - my pizza is also posted here!

Free Samples.....

NESCAFÉ TASTER'S CHOICE - The Smart Choice coffee sample

CLEAN Perfume Facebook - become a fan on Facebook and get a free perfume sample

Print Your Coupon - $1 printable coupon for tuna

HGTV Dream Home 2010 Giveaway : Dream Home : Home & Garden Television - enter to win a dreamhome.

A Homeschool Family....

I love this video and wanted to share! Enjoy!

Tuesday's Stuff.....

My DS found a quarter on the bus yesterday. Found money is now up to 35 cents!!

North American Bear Center Lily Den Cam - this is very cool. Check it out!

http://www.uniballsuperink.com/ - free pen

Walmart.com - Gold Bond Ultimate Hand Sanitizer Moisturizer - free sample

Celestial Seasonings Facebook - free sample when you become a Facebook fan

Drawing Contest Entry....

My 11 year old daughter loves to draw. She is pretty good at it too. This is her entry for the Yoplait "Strong and Happy" drawing contest featured here....

“Strong and Happy” Drawing Contest. I hope she becomes a finalist! She is really hoping to win!!

Juicing.....

I got this juicer for Dh for Christmas. Let me just tell you... WE LOVE IT!!! What a great way to get more fruit and veggies into your diet! Juice some fruit and hide a few veggies in it and your kids will never know! They start asking for the juice!



Saturday night we pulled some fruit from our freezer that we grew last summer. This is peaches, blueberries and strawberries.

We added a pear, an orange, an apple and grapes that we had here fresh.

This juice was my favorite so far! Look at the smiles on their faces! They all loved it!

We are trying to eat healthier this year. This has been a great treat for us. We love seeing what the next mix will taste like. We are trying to buy in season fruits and veggies mixed with things from our freezer that we grew ourselves. We have found some great sale fruits and veggies too. Who cares if things are bruised when all you are doing to them is juicing them.

I make a small percentage of money in the form of an Amazon gift certificate from any Amazon sales when you link to Amazon from my site. Amazon has not paid me to buy this juicer or to talk about it.

Free Kleenex, Purex and Kotex.....

Costco Sample. free Kleenex sample

Try a Free Sample Purex 3-in-1 Complete Laundry Sheets free sample

Kotex Signup - free Kotex sample

Free Weekend Craft....

Back here I posted about the free weekend craft at Lowes. I signed my DS up for the class so, Saturday morning we hit the local Lowes store.

What a great activity to do with dad! Watch out Dad, he may hit your fingers!

Look at how fast that hammer is moving!!

And the finished project!!

These workshops are completely free and loaded with fun! Just make sure you sign up before the class since class space is limited.

Freebie Friday.....

We got more snow overnight here in PA. School is on a 2 hour delay. I love 2 hour delays! We all get to sleep in, see each other for a little while (just long enough to get tired of each other) and then we all go our separate independant ways. We will meet up later after a short day of school or work and be happy to see each other once again. Why doesn't school start late everyday?

Coupon - Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet free taco at Taco Bell

Print Your Coupon - or a free taco with a drink purchase at Taco Bell

Free rentals at Redbox - ABTS25 and SNSV25

Printable coupons....

Yankee - printable coupon for $10 off $25 at Yankee Candle

Bath & Body Works - printable coupon for a free travel size item at Bath and Body Works

Coupon - printable coupon for 25% off at The Limited

Humpday Deals.....

My DH found a dime at work yesterday. That is the beginning of our 2010 found money jar!

Free Post-it® Durable Tab Sample - free sample of tabs

Free Offer for Garden Design - free 1 year subscription to Garden Design

Blue Ribbon Foods Sample Request - free Gourmet food sample for certain states. Great deal if you live in one of the states!!

Order Living the Country Life Magazine - free 3 year subscription

10-a-Day GIVEAWAY – The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook $5 Dinners™ - enter to win this new cookbook. I have read her blog for several years and now she published a cook book!! Congrats to Erin! Now go enter to win a copy for yourself!!

Free Coin Bank at Lowes

My kids love these free workshops at Lowes. This bank is so cool. This is a great project to do with your kids. All the material you need is all set up for you at Lowes. You even get a little work apron and safety goggles. Go here to sign up for this class for Saturday, January 9, 2010. If you can not make it to this one, check out the website to look at upcoming classes. The price is right! - FREE!

Tuesday's Freebies....

Sam's Club - Slimfast v.10415 - free slim fast bar

Free Cookbook: Post - free cookbook from Gooseberry Patch. These are always nice little books!

Sam's Club - Mariani Prunes v.10392 - free dried plums

Rebate - printable rebate from Olay

Red Zone - free sample

Monday's Scoop.....

It was a very warm 20 degrees here this morning with no wind yet today. That is much better than the 14 degrees we had yesterday morning and heavy winds. I can take the cold, I just really hate the wind.

I love them all to death but boy am I glad my DH had to go back to work today, after being off since December 17th, and the school bus was a welcome site to this morning!! I just want to get back to my own routine. I will probably miss them all a little and welcome them home after their own busy days.



The Atkins Community - Create Account sign up and get 3 free Atkins bars and a free calorie counter

Healthy Choice - 5 More Reasons to Love Healthy Choice - printable $5 off Healthy Choice

Natural Nibbles - Request Free Samples! - free treats for your dog

Rebate - printable rebate from SC Johnson & Co

Free Sample Request - free sample of organic cereal

Bounce - free sample of bounce dryer sheets

New Year, New Deals.....

Sunday, January 3rd is the best day to buy a Sunday paper! There will be 5 coupon inserts!! Yes really! FIVE!!! What a great way to start off a new years resolution to start saving money this year! Didn't make that resolution? So what... start saving anyway!

Another great deal to start the new year is staring Sunday at CVS, GE Energy Smart CFL bulbs will be on sale for $2.99 with a $2 ECB. Print a $1 coupon here to make them free. It's a bricks coupon so print twice. Not only will you get the bulbs free but these help save money on electric too. A double savings!

Pantene guarantees their products - free after rebate!!!! These companies do these deals to get you to try their product. They know most people send for the refund even if they like the product. Never feel bad about doing these deals when you liked the product.

Walmart.com - Prilosec OTC Heartburn Blocker - free sample

Found Money Total.....

A drum roll please.........

The found money total for 2009 was.......

$3.37

Cost us nothing to earn that either. I think looking down paid much better interest for the year than many saving accounts!

Can we beat the total in 2010? We are going to try!!