Update

Hello all! I just wanted to touch base with everyone and explain my absence. My mother in law was diagnosed with lung cancer about 7 months ago. She has taken a turn for the worse and is now on hospice and I am taking care of her.

I am overwhelmed and very tired. I am not going to be blogging as much as I like. I will write when I have the time, but I don't know when and how often. If you are interested in the deals and freebies, follow me on Twitter. I have been posting those as often as I can.

I have some great articles on Christmas shopping and some more reviews that I will get to when I do get the chance, just please be patient with me.

Thanks

Grape Tomato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Here is a nice light summer salad to enjoy.

Grape Tomato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Recipe serves: 8

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots
2 tablespoons fresh chopped basil leaves
salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper
2 pints grape tomatoes


Place all the ingredients except the tomatoes in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake well.

Gently toss the tomatoes with the vinaigrette. Garnish with fresh
basil leaves. (optional)

Serving Size: about 1/2 cup of salad

Freebies, Deals and Sweepstakes

Kohls - Super Saturday Sale featuring 100 Early Bird Specials. Online 1am to 4pm EDT, In Store 7am to 1pm local time.

Cozi - This is a FREE way to keep everything organized. You can keep appointments, schedules and lists all online and handy. You can also get a mobile version.

Fashion Watch - Enter to win a Noxema Original Deep Cleansing Gift Basket. Ends August 10, 2009.

Luxor Las Vegas - Get a FREE room night when you buy two tickets to Criss Angel Believe with code PDGET.

Amazon.com - Get 2 years of Marie Claire and 2 years of Seventeen magazine for $5 each. The discount will show in cart.

Marie Callender's - Printable coupons for FREE entree and 20% off your bill. Sign up for the newsletter to get coupons every month.

Vaseline - FREE sample of Vaseline Aloe Fresh Body Lotion.

Black Angus - Printable coupons for $14.99, for Summer Grill Trio and $37 Capfire Feast Dinner for 2.

e.l.f. - FREE bronzer wristlet with a purchase of $15 or more with code GTLWRISTLET.

TigerDirect - Reburbished Sale. There are some great deal. Ends Today, July 17, 2009.

Graveyard Mall - Daily Deals - 3 in 1 Bagless Power Vacuum for $14.99, reg. $119.99 and Slot Machine Drink Despenser $9.99, reg. $59.99.

Hanes - Take 20% off clearance.

SuperJeweler.com - Save 60% off select items. Sale ends July 19, 2009.

Deals and Freebies

Venom Energy - Fill out the form to get a free Venom Energy Drink coupon sent to you.

Arts Cow - Get a Custom Classic Tote Bag for $7.99 with code TOTEBAG799FS. Offer expires 7/31/09.

8x10 Gallery Stretch Canvas Print $11.99 with FREE shipping with code 8X10CANVAS1199. Offer expires 8/31/2009.

Photo MakeUp Bag $11.99 with code MAKEUPBAG1199. Offer ends 8/15/2009.

Orbitz - Save an extra 15% on select hotels with code 7DAYSAVE. Book by July 19th to save on travel through October 15, 2009.

e.l.f. - Sitewide $1.98 shipping with code EGSHIPT on orders over $15. Offer ends July 16, 2009. I am excited about this. I have a list of things that I wanted to get.

Great Wolf Lodge - For my friends in the NorthWest. Save 10% off available rates with a 2 night stay with code MOREFUN. Valid until September 3, 2009.

SuperJeweler.com - Save up to 60% on Ruby Jewelry. There are some beautiful and inexpensive pieces. This is my birthstone, so I am really excited.

Victoria's Secret - Up to 60% off Pink Collegiate Collection. While supplies last.

Characters - Get FREE standard shipping on orders $25 or more with code JULYHOT. Offer ends midnight July 18, 2009.

Walgreens - 25% off posters with code BIGSTYLE. Offer ends July 18, 2009.

Review - Batter Blaster

If you haven't seen this product at your market it is called Batter Blaster and it is pancake and waffle batter in a can. I know it is kind of hilarious. I was on this crazy kick and I wanted pancakes, so I saw this at the store and bought it.

I thought that it would be fun and easy to use, so I figured, what the heck. To use this product for pancakes, you shake the can, make sure your pan or griddle is buttered and then spray the batter into the pan. You cook the pancakes as you would normally do.

I made four pancakes, and I used one small skillet and cooked them one at a time. The first pancake came out horribly. It was very airy and when I went to flip it it completely flattened and fell apart. I wasn't able to flip it at all and just threw it out.

The second pancake I made turned out better than the first but I still had a difficult time flipping it, but it was edible so I kept it.

The third and fourth pancakes turned out really well. They were easy to flip and looked great.

Alright, so here is what I think. I thought that Batter Blaster is a great product if you are only going to make a few pancakes at a time. Maybe four or less. It saved a lot of clean up time, because I did not have to make the batter and then clean up the extra dishes. If you are going to make pancakes for the entire family I don't think it matters if you use the Batter Blaster or mix your own pancake batter.

In my opinion, when you use this for pancakes, use a small skillet, like I did, or a large griddle. It seemed to me, like I would have only been able to cook a couple at a time. I also used Pam Cooking Spray to keep my skillet greased instead of butter. I had to spray the skillet after each pancake. This I did not like. I usually don't have to do this when I make pancakes. I would also recommend spraying a little of the batter into the sink, the first time you make a batch. This should avoid the problem that I had with the first pancake being too aerated. I don't like having to waste product, but I threw the first pancake out, so it was wasted anyway.

Now for the pancakes. They were very light and airy. They weren't heavy at all, which was very nice. The taste was very good. It had a subtle sweet vanilla taste. I had one with nothing on it, so that I could get a good taste of the flavor. I really enjoyed them.

You can use this batter for waffles too. I did not make waffles, but I think that the Batter Blaster would work better with a waffle maker then it did with the pancakes.

Overall, I think that the Batter Blaster is great for making a couple pancakes. It is extremely easy to use, and there is virtually no clean up involved. It is a nice, quick and easy breakfast. The pancakes tasted great and it would be easy to add some blueberries or chocolate chips to it. It doesn't save any time if you are making a large batch of pancakes.

The Batter Blaster comes in a 18 oz can and it says that it makes about 12 pancakes. You can also go to the website to find tips, a video on how to use it and recipes.

Deals and Freebies

K Mart - Check out your local K Mart for 50% off clearance toys. Great time to stock up for Christmas.

Amazon.com - It's Friday, so check out the Friday Sale.

7 Eleven - On Saturday 7/11 between 7am and 11pm for a FREE, 7.11 oz (Get it) Slurpee. It is to celebrate their 82nd Birthday! Also, check out the Liquid Artillery (GI Joe) flavor. It sounds YUMMY, strawberry, pineapple and lime. I love pineapple!

Arby's - Go to Arby's and bring in this coupon for a FREE BBQ Bacon Cheddar Roast Burger with the purchase of a soft drink. Offer expires July 12, 2009.

Rainforest Cafe - Printable coupon for $10 off any $25 food and drink purchase. Coupon expires July 31, 2009.

Deals and Freebies

eForCity.com - Get $5 off $20 or more with Code ONLY4U5OFF. Offer expires 8/4/2009, excludes DVD's, game software and promotional items.

Styles Checks - Get 2 boxes for the price of 1 with code ZWF641. Offer expires July 15, 2009.

BeautyTicket.com - Get a Hard Candy Bling Bling Eye Glitter Pot worth $16, for FREE with a $25 purchase.

Arts Cow - Get 2 customizable dual-sided pencil cases for $9.99 with FREE shipping with code PC999FOR2. Offer expires 8/8/2009. These will be great for back to school.

Puritan's Pride - Buy 1 Get 2 FREE Vitamin Sale. Same Item, Same Size, Puritan's Pride Brand Product. Time to stock up on your vitamins and supplements again.

Netaya - Get a 1 CTW Diamond S Link Tennis Bracelet in 10k Yellow Gold for $199.80, with code TTB40. Suggested retail price $999.99. While supplies last.

CompUSA - 1 TB Eternal Hard Drive for $89.99. This is a great price for a 1TB hard drive. While supplies last. Plus $1.99 shipping.

Star Wars Shop - FREE shipping on orders of $20 or more. Offer ends July 14, 2009.

Long John Silver's - FREE Baja Fish Taco, Tuesday, July 14, 2009, from opening to 2:30pm.

Deals and Freebies

First off, I want to let you all know that I made the blog name shorter. I just dropped the Random Thoughts. I am going to start another blog for my random thoughts. I will you know when, in case you are interested. With that said, here are the deals I came across.

Walgreens - $0.10 prints on 4x6 print orders of 50 or more with code JULY4. Ends on July 11, 2009. What a great time to get those Summer pictures printed.

Kotex - Free sample of Ultra Thin Overnight Pads with Wings

Viva Paper Towels - Free paper towel sample

Tide Stain Release - You can request a $1.50 off of 1 coupon to be mailed to you.

Home Made Simple - You can request a coupon booklet that has over $30 in savings, including a FREE coupon for Cascade Rinse Agent. Due to high demand, these should arrive in 6-8 weeks.

Lowe's Build & Grow - Saturday, July 11, 2009, 10am to 11am they are having their Build and Grow workshop for kids. Make sure you sign up. It is FREE. This week is a Treasure Chest. My son is really excited about this one.

McDonald's - Starting July 13th and ending August 3rd, McDonald's will have Mocha Mondays. They will be giving away FREE 8oz Mocha or 7oz Iced Mocha from the hours of 7am to 7pm.

Walt Disney World - If you are planning a trip to WDW, you can customize your own maps by choosing your favorite shows, attractions and more for FREE and they will be delivered to you.

CompUSA - You can get a Acer Aspire Netbook for $219, but HURRY, there are only 500 available. Plus there is $1.99 shipping.

BodyJewelry.com - Get 20% off any order with code 25OFF. Offer ends July 16, 2009.

Inspired Jewelry - Take 25% off everything with code JULY2509. Offer ends July 14, 2009.

Cutesy Girl - Take 20% off your order with code JULY20. Can only be used once.

Tiger Direct - This is a great deal. You can get a refurbished TomTom One130 GPS for $59.99. I have this GPS system and I absolutely LOVE it. It is extremely easy to use. These are while supplies last.

Victoria's Secret - The PERFECT ONE bra is $29.50, for a limited time.

Graveyard Mall - Deal of the Day is the Outdoor Portable Shower with Tripod Stand regular price $49.99 today it is $9.99, while supplies last.

Restaurant.com - 70% off, $25 gift certificates for $3. Use code SEVENTY. Offer ends July 13, 2009.

Deals and Freebies

Daily deals and freebies from my email.

Victoria's Secret has up to 80% off of swimsuits. Take an extra 40% off with code 40SWIMVS for a total of 80% off selected styles. Valid through July 6, 2009, while supplies last.

Netaya is having a 4th of July sale. Receive 25% off all jewelry storewide with code JULY25. Offer ends midnight, July 5, 2009.

Cherry Culture has a sale going on, take 20% off $50 or more using code GR4S. This sale is July 3 - July 7, 2009.

CompUSA has a Westinghouse 16 inch HDTV for $149.99 with $1.99 shipping. HURRY this deal will not last long.

Playboy's The Bunny Shop is having a Summer Sales Event. Take up to 65% off select items. Hurry limited time while supplies last.

Carol's Daughter is giving away a FREE Diva Candy paint Lip Gloss with any $25 purchase. Offer ends July 5, 2009 at midnight. Also free shipping on orders of $50 or more.

Sketchers is taking 50% off apparel with code APPAREL50.

Magazines.com is giving $5 off popular magazines with code summermags.

Deals and Freebies

Here are some more deals from my email today.

TeenFreeway is giving away a free denim cosmetic bag. These will go fast.

ArtsCow has an 8x10 Canvas print for $7.99, with coupon code 8X10CANVAS799 which expires on 7/31/09.

Sally Beauty Supply is giving away a free scarf tote with the purchase of any Ion styling appliance or 3 full size Ion hair care products. They are also having a sidewalk sale July 2-5. Take an additional 50% off red ticket items.

Ulta has the Glam & Go 52 piece make up case for $19.99, while supplies last.

Netaya has Sterling Silver White Sapphire Dangle Star Earrings for $19.75, with coupon code STARS4. While supplies last.

Forkfly

Forkfly is a company that started here in Portland and has recently went nationwide. I am not really sure what cities are included but I do know that Seattle, Minneapolis and Dallas are among the cities that can now use the Forkfly service.

I found Forkfly about a month ago through Twitter, and I have to say, I am in love. Forkfly features coupons and discounts from local merchants in your area. You can go to Forkfly.com, put in your zip code, choose a catergory, like food and drink, entertainment, etc. find the merchant and print out the coupon. There is also an app for your phone. You just download the app and use it the same way you would on the computer. You just show the coupon to the merchant and there you go, you get your discount.

I have used this at a few places and have not had any problems. It is so simple and having the app on my phone makes it easier than using paper coupons.

Open Office

I wanted to tell you all about Open Office. It is a free and easy to use altenative to Microsoft Office. I have been using this program for about five years. It is fabulous.

Open Office is free to use "office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more." You can use it to open Microsoft Office documents and can even save so that you can later open in Microsoft Office.

The reason why I started using this software was because I couldn't afford to buy Microsoft Office. When I found it, I was so happy and impressed at all the things I could do. The documents are easy to use and similar to Microsoft Office.

I have continued to use this product for all these years and was pleased when I received a PowerPoint document that I needed to open and revise, that I was able to use Open Office.

This is a great product and I hope you get a chance to use it. If you like it, make sure you tell your friends about it.

Deals, Freebies and Sweepstakes

Jelly Belly BeanBoozled Instant Win Game - You can play everyday starting today, July 1st until November 1, 2009. Prizes include iPods, iTunes gift cards and flip camcorders. Read the entry rules for full details. Good Luck!

Burlington Coat Factory is having a storewide 60% off sale. Also you can win a $500 shopping spree on their website. Read the entry rules for full details. Hurry and enter, this one ends 7/6/09.

Old Navy is selling flag tees for $1 each, limit five per customer on Friday, July 3rd. Stop on in and grab some for the entire family. Show off that American Pride.

Deep Discounts is having a few sales right now. 60% off all A&E films. Pick 4 romance novels for $24. And special edition DVD's for $12.79.

Graveyard Mall Deal of the Day is 5 or 6 pounds of pens for $13.99. Crazy! Also a messenger bag for $13.99. While supplies last.

Bath and Body Works has a coupon for 20% off any purchase $25 or more. This expires July 5th so hurry.

Build A Bear has a promotion going on July 1 - 29, Free 3-D scavenger hunt and glasses with a $10 or more animal purchase. While supplies last.

Wendy's has a printable $1 off coupon.

Arby's free Wednesday is today. Today is a free beef n cheddar with any soft drink purchase. Next Wednesday is free orange cream swirl shake with any sandwich purchase.

Uncle Graveyard you can get Gene Simmons Family Jewels Season 1&2 on DVD for $6.99.

My Challenge

I issued myself a challenge. I challenged myself to spend no money for the next two weeks on food and use the food that I have at home. Sounds simple and I am sure most of you do it all the time. As big as I am on saving money, I have always had a really hard time making a menu and sticking to it. As embarrassing as it is to admit, my family eats out a lot. I get in these horrible ruts and just give up. It's insane. I love to cook. I have tons of recipes saved and lots of cookbooks, but I just wind up cooking the same thing.

So here is my challenge. It was originally only going to be for a week, but as I stated in my previous blog, I received so many birthday coupons, that I wanted to use some of them. I have made a menu and a grocery list. I am going to buy the few things that I need for the next two weeks today. With the exception of milk and bread, after this trip I will not be buying food at the grocery store.

I am going to use only the birthday coupons that offer a free entree. We will only be paying for my husband and son's meals. Our strategy on this is to spend as little as possible. I am going to keep record of these meals.

All other meals at will be here at home. I am feeling pretty good about this and very excited. If this works out, hopefully, it will motivate me enough to do it all the time.

Eating out is our biggest expense and I really would like to cut down on it, to save more money.

Five is the Magic Number

I had a bit of an epiphany yesterday. I was thinking about some of the great deals that have been going on lately and realized that a lot were $5 deals. Five is the magic number here. There are lots of $5 deals. Five dollar footlongs, five dollar shorts, shirts, swimsuits, meals, services. Two for $5 deals everywhere.

I remember a few years ago when one dollar was the magic number. Everything was one dollar. What a deal, $1! Now the deal is $5. Don't get me wrong. I think that $5 deals are great. If I can get shirts, shorts or a meal for $5, each, that is awesome. There is nothing wrong with that.

So, let's embrace Five being the magic number. At least it's not Ten, although having some things $10, would be pretty cool.

Sign up for Birthday Clubs

I wrote about why you should sign up for newsletters. Now I am going to let you know why you should sign up for Birthday Clubs.

The number one reason is you get free stuff. They are like tiny little presents in your email. You get these nice birthday greetings and sometimes a little something extra.

My birthday is this week and I will tell you, I was impressed with the amount of things that I am getting for free.

Here is a list:

Benihana - Free complimentary meal (up to $30)
Baskin Robbins - Free scoop of ice cream
Moe's Southwest Grill - Free entree
Cold Stone Creamery - Free Like It with one mix in
HomeTown Buffet - Free buffet meal
Arby's - Free Swirl Shake
Joe's Crab Shack - Free Appetizer
Buffalo Wild Wings - Free Dessert
On The Border - Free empanadas or dessert
Red Robin - Free Burger
Daphne's - Free entree
Qdoba - Free burrito
Denny's - Free dessert
Ruby Tuesday - Free burger
Del Taco - Free shake
Black Angus - Free steak dinner
Famous Dave's - anything from a free dessert to the All-American Feast (they scan and pick your "prize")
Marie Callender's - $5 off your entree and free slice of pie
TGIFriday's - Free dessert

Most of these expire a week after my birthday, so the odds of me using all of these are pretty slim, but since it is just myself, my husband and son, the free meals will make for an inexpensive meal out.

So go ahead and sign up. Sign your family up too. These are nice birthday treats. My husbands birthday was last week, so we get to double up.

Here are a couple other sites that list birthday clubs.

http://www.freebirthdayclubs.info/
http://www.freebirthdaytreats.com/