SwagBucks Survey - I Won 100 SwagBucks!!

You ought to know by now that there are some things in life that are FREE, unlike the popular saying. Thanks to my using SwagBucks instead of Google to search the internet, I’ve received FREE Amazon.com Giftcards!  However, you can also get Free magazines, Macy’s, Starbucks Gift Cards, Target Giftcards, Lowe's Giftcards, and many others!

New to SwagBucks?

What in the world is this SwagBucks thing everybody is talking about?

That’s what I kept saying too, now it’s my absolute favorite thing. I had heard about it for months, but kept putting it off. Finally I started looking into it and signed up over a year ago.

Swagbucks is an alternative to Googling, but the results are powered by Google. More importantly, you win Swagbucks by searching. You win Swagbucks just for doing something you already were doing anyway – searching the internet.

They start you off with free Swagbucks and then you WIN Swagbucks when you search online. After only a few searches the first day, I had already accumulated many Swagbucks. After a couple of weeks, I had earned enough to redeem! Yeah. The best part – you can turn them in for gift cards (or other items).

The way I look at it, this is FREE money they are giving me for choosing to “SwagBuck” something instead of “Google”.

A Few of my Favorites:

$5 e-gift card to Amazon.com

$10 e-gift card to Barnes N Noble

$10 gift card to Starbucks

$50 e-gift card to Southwest Airlines

$5 PayPal (yes, cash)

Other gift cards available: Disney.com, Lowe’s, Ticketmaster, and so many more.

Merchandise available- MP3 singles, books, TV series DVD’s, sports memorabilia and more.

Most of the time I redeem my SwagBucks for amazon gift cards….as amazon has so much, including groceries. I have installed the SwagBucks search, so every time I need to do a search I am using the SwagBucks search engine! Another option available is to go to the SwagBucks homepage.  If you are online often, like me, you’ll earn quickly.

They often publish free SwagBucks codes on their blog and other places.

Each Friday is also Mega SwagBuck dayand they are giving away extra large SwagBucks denominations, so do a few random searches for things on Fridays. Go there and search for fun activities for the weekend, the weather forecast, or even A Frugal Friend.

To sign up, click on the link below and start earning gift cards for something you already do:

SwagBucks sign up – click here

Basics from Walgreens for $6

I went to Walgreens this evening after dinner for a few items on my list.  They have some decent deals this week, but my focus was on the above items.  Check out Southern Savers for the full list!!  The lady behind me was impressed since she saw my total was $16 and after the cashier scanned my coupons it was $6.17!  I liked this transaction since we were almost out of paper plates and we needed more freebie toothbrushes for our trip to California!

************************************************ 
Total Before Savings and Coupons: $19.89
Total Spent: $6.17
Total Saved:$13.72 or 69%
Remaining RR: $1
************************************************ 

2 - $1 RR wyb (2) Vanity Fair or Dixie Plates, Cups, Bowls or Napkins at $2.50 ea
-.50/1 Vanity Fair Plates or Bowls RP 3/14 (exp 6/30)
-.50/1 Dixie or Dixie Ultra Paper Plates RP 5/23
(buy 2, use 2 coupons, makes it $1.50 ea.)
2 - Reach Floss or Crystal Clean Toothbrush 99¢ w/ in-ad coupon
B1G1 Reach Single Toothbrush RP 1/03
-$1 off Reach Dental Floss, or Reach Toothbrush, RP 5/16, 3/07, 10/18 (exp 6/30) (makes it FREE)
3 - Puffs Facial Tissue 60,72 or 108 pk 99¢ ea w/in-ad coupon
-.25/3 Puffs any (3) single Puffs products Puffs, P&G $100 Coupon Booklet (makes it 90¢)
Dawn Dish Liquid 10.3 oz 99¢
-$1 Dawn Product (makes it FREE)

Menu Planning 6/27-07/03

UPATE 7/1/10: Cheeseburgers w/Sweet Potato French Fries


Many of the above recipes are new recipes for our family from E-Mealz.  On some occasions, I take pictures of what I cook and post how they went with the family.  I figured it would be a great way of beginning to record our favorite recipes in my recipe book I purchased from Hallmark.  What are your plans this week?

WICKED at Dallas Summer Musicals!!

I saw Wicked on Saturday with my mom, Mema, and Alicia.  We were about 13 rows from the stage in the orchestra and it was amazing!  It was mom and my second time to see the show, but it was Mema's and Alicia's first time to see the show.  My mom was reading through the playbill for the show and read the The Wizard was played by Richard Kline.  I would not have remembered him if it was not for the notes listed, but he played Jack Tripper's best friend, Larry, on Three's Company!  Since this was my second time to see the show, I really wanted a shirt!  I picked up the green one that said Wicked and cannot wait to wear it!

The first two minutes of the video is really neat!  It goes over behind the scenes information.  From watching the video, I learned it takes three days to assemble the entire stage and 42 trucks to bring all the supplies for the show!

Zoo - 7.16.08

I created another zoo layout last night.  I used my Cricut cartridge to cut the Giraffe, circle, triangles, and the Zoo words.  It took me a few attempts to cut the giraffe.  I have never replaced my blade (I've had it for years!) on my Cricut and after cutting a few Giraffes, I decided it probably was time!  After I replaced the blade, the base of the giraffe cut beautifully with no tears or problems!  I used Animal Kingdom to cut the giraffe and word zoo.  The cartridge that came with my Cricut was George and Basic Shapes.  I love using this cartridge since it can cut all sorts of basic shapes.  I used it to cut the circle and the triangles.  The triangles actually were diamonds until I cut them in half!  I used The Scrappiest Sketch #62 for the layout.  I enjoy using her sketches, they are always fun and fit my scrapbooking styles!

Zoo Trip

I created this layout using Coordinates Collections Jack kit and some of my other random scraps.  It sure is hard to believe these pictures from almost two years old! My mom and I took the boys to the Fort Worth Zoo.  I used The Scrappiest Sketch #70 for the layout.

Always & Forever

I made this card for Jeff's sister.  His sister, Dawn, is getting married tomorrow!  I was excited to use these scraps remaining from the previous Coordinates Collections Sky kit!  I used Mojo Monday's Sketch #144.

Library Day on Tuesday

Jakob and I went to the Aubrey Public Library on Tuesday.  I am really liking the library since it is a little smaller.  The original story time planned was changed since the person scheduled was sick.  Jakob still enjoyed listening to the three stories and then he picked out the following books while he was at the library!

Little Gorilla by Ruth Bornstein

Don't Take Your Snake for a Stroll by Karin Ireland

Creepy Crawlers by Mark Moore

Stanley, Flat Again by Jeff Brown

One Fine Day by Nonny Hogrogian

Pattern Fish by Trudy Harris

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

The Aubrey Library is having the kids participate in creating a Flat Stanley.  We have read the first two chapters of Stanley, Flat Again by Jeff Brown and Jakob seems to be comprehending it!  Most of the pages have basic pictures and the words are large and not many on a page.  Therefore, chapters are short and interesting and the pictures still help Jakob begin to process it all!

The original Flat Stanley book was written in 1964.  Stanley was flattened by a bulletin board which fell on him while he was sleeping. Otherwise fine, Stanley was now very flat! He could slide under doors, be used as a kite, and be placed in envelopes to be mailed all over the world!  Many books have been written with Flat Stanley and he travels and does things all over the world.  Maybe Jakob will enjoy the books and can slowly introduce chapter books!

Jakob created his Flat Stanley and is mailing it to his Uncle Randy and Aunt Nikki in California!  It will sure be fun to see where he travels this summer!  Once Jakob receives the photos, he can take them back to the library and place it by the map!  Stay posted to see where Flat Stanley travels next!

View Larger Map

Parsley Potatoes

Tonight we had a Hormel's Mesquite Pork Tenderloin, Parsley potatoes, and Corn-on-the-Cob.  The recipe was quite simple from E-Mealz and had you boil potatoes in water.  After they were tender, put 3 TBSP of butter and parsley and toss.  I boiled them a little longer than I was expecting, but they were still really good!  I added a little bit of cheese and they were delicious!  Jakob wolfed it all down too, so it was a hit!

Parsley Potatoes from E-Mealz
2 lbs potatoes, quartered
(3 T light butter, 1/2 t salt, 1/4 t pepper)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Boil potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain, add butter & toss. Add parsley, salt, & pepper.

Grand Canyon Weekend Vacation

We woke up Friday morning early around 3:30AM!  Our flight departed Love Field in Dallas at 6:20AM and landed in El Paso.  Jeff had found a flight that we could stay on and from El Paso, it would go Phoenix, AZ.  After we landed, the pilot stated it would be a full flight and he needed to see a few people.  I knew he was calling non-rev customers.  He starts calling names and I'm hoping with my fingers crossed he doesn't call any of us!  Yet, all of a sudden, he calls Jakob!!  Jakob was really excited and said, "They called my name!" Jeff went up and shortly after we all got off the plane since obviously we could not fly without Jakob!  They have all of the non-rev people in a list on the computer and we were the top group.  They had exactly three seats available and we needed four for all of us.  The attendant then realizes again that Jeff is an employee and mentions he could ride fourth in a flight attendant seat.  It was super nice of them to let Jeff fly on that seat so we all could get there on that flight!  I knew the plane would be really full getting back on it since we were one of the last ones to get on board.  I saw two seats in separate rows but together and grab them.  Jakob did well on the plane and played his game a little.  I could tell near the end he was ready to get off the plane.  I'm sure it was a little different not sitting directly next to either Jeff or me, but overall I think he did fine and didn't appear to annoy the other two people next to him!  I was glad I grabbed those two seats since once we sat down other people were still debating where to sit.

We landed in Phoenix, AZ at 7:20AM (their time) and took the shuttle to get our car.  Shortly after arriving at the Rental Car Center, we had our car and were on our way toward the Grand Canyon.  We stopped on the way to get snacks and then eat lunch as we drove to the Grand Canyon.  It is about three-four hours from the Phoneix area to the Grand Canyon.

Once we arrived at the Grand Canyon, we purchased a few waters and began admiring the beauty of it all!  We started walking east around the edge and took many pictures along the way!  We walked and walked until we came to the end of one side and then took the bus back to the visitor center.  The Grand Canyon had three different color paths and we had finished the green path.  After we returned to the visitor center, we took the bus on the blue path.  We found a gift shop once we got off the bus before walking east again.  Jakob and Roland both bought hats and shirts.  I found a scrapbook and a pink hat with a shirt.  Jeff found a few t-shirts.

We stayed in Williams, AZ on Friday.  It is about an hour south of the Grand Canyon.  After leaving the Grand Canyon, we had a few snacks in the car but decided we would eat at the Pizza Hut in Williams near our hotel.  We did not realize until Saturday that it was really two hours behind CST, so by the time we got to Pizza Hut it was really 9:00PM to us!  I laugh because Jakob was exhausted and was pretty much asleep after eating a few pieces of pizza!

We woke up Saturday morning and had breakfast at our hotel.  It was a really nice continental breakfast including cereal, muffins, waffles, fruit, juice, and milk.  After breakfast, we finished packing up and checked out of the hotel.  We headed south to Phoenix to meet Jeff's uncle for lunch.  We arrived at his house around 11:00AM and had a nice lunch together.  After lunch, we had intentions of going to a Sea Life place that I thought would be like the Dallas World Aquarium.  However, it was a small attraction inside Arizona Mills.  The mall was designed the same as Grapevine Mills and the tourist attraction for Sea Life was not worth the $20/person price!  I was quite disappointed and we walked around the mall and then went to check into our hotel near the airport.

We relaxed at the hotel for a little while before heading out for dinner.  It was really hot in Phoenix.  The temperature for the weekend was 105.  Even though they do not have humidity, it was still really hot in Phoenix!  I was pretty worn out from the overall day at the Grand Canyon.  After watching some television, we went out for dinner.  We found an Applebees and then comically we went to a nearby Costco for ice cream!

Once we finished we went back to our hotel and relaxed for the rest of the evening.  We had an early morning flight to catch out of Phoenix to Houston.  Our flight left the next morning at 7:00AM.  We were able to easily non-rev the flight with plenty of seats available. We landed in Houston at 11:35AM CST.  We were able to eat lunch at the airport before our connecting flight to Dallas.  Our next flight left Houston shortly after 12:30PM.  The flight from Houston to Dallas was really short and Jakob slept most of that flight!  I told him before getting on the plane he was taking a nap!  He was exhausted and at the point where he was hyper-silly!  I wish I could have gotten a picture of him because once he fell asleep, he was OUT!  He even slept through the entire landing and did not wake up until our plane stopped at the gate.

Overall, it was a really fun weekend and great experience.  Here are a few of many pictures I took from the trip!

Menu Planning 6/20-6/26

Jeff and I have been doing our menu for about a month now and it is going well.  We only had one off week due to the refrigerator breaking last week and our weekend vacation to the Grand Canyon.  Otherwise, it is going well.  I have been using E-Mealz for many of my plans and I must say that helps dramatically!  I have so many different and easy recipes right at my fingertips!  I currently subscribe to Points for Any Store and the Kroger menu.  I do not use every single recipe, but it sure helps for eating a variety of food rather than the same old food over and over again!

On some occasions, I take pictures of what I cook and post how they went with the family.  I figured it would be a great way of beginning to record our favorite recipes in my recipe book I purchased from Hallmark.  What are your plans this week?

UPDATE: 
Wednesday: Mesquite Pork Tenderloin, Parsley Potatoes, & Corn-on-the-Cob

Trip to Kroger with Jakob

Jakob and I went to Kroger on Monday after eating at KFC for lunch.  We had to re-buy some items due to our refrigerator breaking.  However, we did well overall and the details are below. As always, I have to thank Southern Savers!!

************************************************ 
Total Before Savings and Coupons: $170.96
Total Spent: $103.35
Total Saved:$67.61 or 40%
************************************************ 


Meat:
Hormel Marinated Pork Tenderloin 1.15 lb or Loin Filet 1.7 lb $9.99 ea
-$1 off Hormel Always Tender Product SS 5/02 and printable
Hillshire Ham
-$0.55/1 Hillshire Thick Cut Sliced
Hillshire Turkey
-$0.55/1 Hillshire Thick Cut Sliced

Produce:

Bananas 44¢ lb

Kroger Russet Potatoes 5 lb bag at $2.59 ea

Green Apples $1.46 lb 

Red Apples $1.09 lb

Green Seedless Grapes $1.59 lb
Lettuce 92¢
Strawberries $1.38
Lemons 25¢ each

Cold Stuff:
4 - Silk Soy Milk $2.99
-B1G1 FREE Silk Soymilk, Any Half Gallons - 04-11-10 SS

-B1G1 FREE Silk Soymilk, Any Half Gallons - 04-11-10 SS

-0.75/1 Silk Soymilk, Any Half Gallon - 04-11-10 SS

-0.75/1 Silk Soymilk, Any Half Gallon - 04-11-10 SS

Kroger Large Eggs dozen at $1.29 ea

Green Giant Frozen Vegetables at $1 ea
-.55/2 Green Giant Frozen boxed vegetables printable
-.55/2 Green Giant Frozen boxed vegetables printable
4 - SunnyD 48-64 oz at $1 ea
-.25/1 off Sunny D any product SS 4/11, 4/18, 5/09
-.25/1 off Sunny D any product SS 4/11, 4/18, 5/09
-.25/1 off Sunny D any product SS 4/11, 4/18, 5/09
-.25/1 off Sunny D any product SS 4/11, 4/18, 5/09
4 - Kraft Shredded Cheese $1.99
4 - Kraft Sliced Cheese $1.99
Kraft Parmesan Cheese $2.19
3 - Cinnamon Rolls $1.59
-0.75/3 Pillsbury Product
Country Crock Butter $2.29
20 - Yoplait Yogurt $0.50
-0.40/6 Yoplait Yogurt
-0.40/6 Yoplait Yogurt
-0.50/8 Yoplait Yogurt
2 - Yoplait Yogurt Kids $2.35
-0.75/2 Yoplait Yogurt Kids

-0.75/2 Yoplait Yogurt Kids

Grocery:
Sara Lee Honey Wheat Bread
Hot Dog Buns
Hamburger Buns
Tortillas $2.49
2 - Hunt’s Pasta Sauce 26-26.5 oz at $1 ea
Quaker Oatmeal $4.49
2 - Jiffy Blueberry Muffin Mix 65¢
Raisins $2.39
3 - 1L Bottled Water 59¢

Personal or Household:
2 - Nature Made or Sundown Vitamins B1G1
-$1 off Nature Made Vitamin C printable
-$1 off Nature Made Vitamin C printable
6 - Dial or Softsoap Liquid Hand Soap 7.5 oz at $1 ea
-.35/1 Dial Bar Pack or Liquid Hand Soap, RP 6/13 (makes it FREE)
-.35/1 Dial Bar Pack or Liquid Hand Soap, RP 6/13 (makes it FREE)
-.35/1 Dial Bar Pack or Liquid Hand Soap, RP 6/13 (makes it FREE)
-.35/1 Dial Bar Pack or Liquid Hand Soap, RP 6/13 (makes it FREE)
-.35/1 Dial Bar Pack or Liquid Hand Soap, RP 6/13 (makes it FREE)
-.35/1 Dial Bar Pack or Liquid Hand Soap, RP 6/13 (makes it FREE)

Swimming at the Pool

Last Thursday, my cousin Janet came over with her kids, Aidan and Jack.  We took all the boys to the pool and they had a blast playing in the water!  It was fun taking pictures and we snapped a few really fun shots of the boys jumping into the pool! After we finished at the pool, we came back to the house and cooked hamburgers on the stove.  Everyone ate really good after playing in the pool for a good two hours!

The funniest part of the day was Jakob learning who Aidan and Jack were again.  He has met them before, but I think he just did not remember.  He was really excited that his cousin Aidan and his cousin Jack were coming over! Then he referred to Jack as baby and sometimes baby Jack!  Recently, Jakob found a little ball that Jack brought over and Jakob was concerned to make sure we got it back to baby Jack!

Roland worked really hard to get into this photo that Janet was trying to take.  Then I thought it was funny because he posed as a 13 year old!