SUMMER FUN RECIPE
My favorite summer activity is bubble blowing. In my old neighborhood, we would blow lots of bubbles and the kids would use squirt bottles or badminton racquets to pop them. We went through lots of bubble liquid and I eventually found a recipe to make them at home. This solution works really well with the real large wands.
Mix ingredients in a large bowl
1 cup of water
4 tablespoons of dish soap (I use Joy but Dawn works well too)
1 tablespoon of corn syrup or glycerin (you can get glycerin at the drug store I like it a bit better)
Mix everything together slowly. Yep...that simple. You can use the mixture right away, but I've noticed that it works even better if you give it a little while. Our leftovers we usually put in a recycled jar for later.
MONEY SAVING RECIPE
Albertsons has tilapia on sale this week at the price of buy one get three free. This is a great fish for many recipes because it isn't overly fishy. Broccoli crowns are also on sale at 98 cents a pound. Add a couple more inexpensive ingredients and you can make this simple Lemony Tilapia with Rice Pilaf and Broccoli recipe from Hannaford. You can also try out this Tilapia Tostada recipe from My Recipes which also shows you what items are on sale in your area!
FREE SUMMER ACTIVITY VIA APPLE
If you live near an Apple store, you might want to register your kids ages 8 to 12 for Apple's Movie Magic Camp. It is a three day camp and just an hour and a half a day. During that time the kids will create an original song in GarageBand on iPad and put it together in iMovie on a Mac. The Apple Camp ends with the campers sharing their work at the Apple Camp Film Festival. Spots fill up quickly, but I found lots of openings in the stores in Arizona. Follow this link and then use the Select A Store feature to find an opening near you.
WEEKEND BUILD AND GROW
Lowe's Build & Grown Clinics are going strong. This weekend's project is a Monster's University Chest. The classes are full for Saturday, but there are still some openings on Sunday. Sign up at this link while space is available.
FREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS
FreeCCM never disappoints in the free music department, and this week is no exception. Head over to their site for six free music downloads including Bart Millard's "Power in the Blood."
FREE EBOOKS (Please keep in mind that these were free at the time of my posting. Prices can change so always look at the price before you order.)
Elisha's Bones by Don Hoesel (AMAZON) (BARNES & NOBLE) (CHRISTIANBOOK.COM)
Doesn't She Look Natural by Angela Hunt (AMAZON)
Remember looking up information in the Encyclopedia Britannica. I begged my parents for it year after year, but it was just way too pricey. They shared that the library was good enough, and no doubt, it was great, but I still longed for my own encyclopedia. There was so much to read, look at and learn. Right now you can get the Encyclopedia Britannica 11th edition for free for your Kindle (or Kindle app) at Amazon. No idea how long this will last, but it is seriously pretty cool.
LOYALTY CARD SAVINGS WITH SAVING STAR
Don't forget to check out the latest ways to save via Savingstar. The discounts go into an account that you can apply to Paypal, Amazon and other gift cards.
GROCERIES
ALBERTSONS
Whole Pork Loin in the Bag or Pork Spare Ribs previously frozen $1.88 lb
Jumbo Arizona Cantaloupe 88 cents each
Fresh Keta Salmon fillet $3.98 lb
Tilapia Fillets 1 lb bag frozen buy 1 get 3 Free
Fresh Broccoli Crowns or Cauliflower 98 cents lb
FRY'S
Green Seedless Grapes 85 cents lb
Yellow Peaches 99 cents lb
Kroger Butter Select Varieties 16 oz 2.29 lb
Kroger Boneless Chicken Breasts or Thighs $1.99 lb
Sweet Corn 5/99 cents
SAFEWAY
Green Zucchini or Yellow Squash $1.29 lb
Roma Tomatoes 99 cents lb
Lean Cuisine Simple Favorites 8.5 to 12 oz 5/$10
Angel Soft Bathe Tissue or Sparkle Paper Towels $5
KEEP IT FRESH
Fresh berries are everywhere you look during this season. Prices are so good, it is hard not to stock up. The trouble is, when you stock up, you often end up with more than you can use before rotting happens. Here is a great trick to keep your strawberries fresher longer.
-Soak berries in a bowl with a 1 part mixture of vinegar to 10 parts water. Let this soak for about five minutes and then let dry completely before placing in the refrigerator. The vinegar will kill off mold spores but will not impact the taste of the berries. Give it a try.
SUMMER TREAT
This week red seedless grapes are on sale for just 85 cents a pound. Freeze them up for a healthy and chilly snack that will definitely take the edge off the climbing temperatures.
FREE EBOOKS (Remember that these were free at the time of my posting. Always check the price before you download.)
Angel's Watching Over Me by Michael Phillps (CHRISTIANBOOK.COM) (AMAZON) (BARNES & NOBLE)
Bound by Guilt by C.J. Darlington (CHRISTIANBOOK.COM) (AMAZON) (BARNES & NOBLE)
It's Only Natural: 200 natural cleaning product recipes to have a green, healthy and allergy free home and garden by Lorraine M. Harding (AMAZON)
FREE MUSIC
Free CCM has four music downloads including "Better Than Life" by Remedy Drive.
New Release Tuesday has several free downloads including an acoustic version of "Resuscitate Me" by Remedy Drive.
iTickets has two free downloads this week including "Get Up" from Building 429.
SUMMER FUN IN AZ
-June 29th enjoy some great activities at Deer Valley Park from 7 to 9 pm with fireworks at 8:45 pm.
-Cigna is hosting some great summer events at Phoenix area pools. Little ones ages 6 and under can join in the Itty Bitty Beach Party from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. There are four events this summer:
-Other great events are listed at the Cigna page. Check them all out here.
-There are still some spaces open in the Lowe's Build and Grow Clinics. These activities are a great way for the kids to have fun and learn a little something too. Check out the upcoming listings here.
-Enjoy movies under the stars for free in Prescott Valley every Thursday in June starting at
7:30 pm on the grass at the Civic Center Amphitheater in Prescott Valley.
FREEBIE
Friday, June 7th is National Doughnut Day, and Krispy Kreme wants to help you celebrate with a free doughnut. Find a location near you by following this link.
GROCERIES
ALBERTSONS
Sanderson Farms Fresh Tray Pack Chicken includes boneless and bone-in regular size packages buy 1 get 1 free
USDA Choice Ribeye or T-Bone Steak Boneless or Bone-in Any Size Package 50% Off
Lean Ground Beef 80% Lean 3lbs or More $2.29 lb
Red Seedless Grapes 85 cents lb
Tropical Magoes 2/$1
Crisp Red Bell Peppers 2/$1
Albertsons Gallon Milk Select Varieties $1.79 (limit 2)
Red Ripe Grape Tomatoes 12 oz 2/$3
Blue Bell Ice Cream Half Gallon $3.99 (limit 2)
SAFEWAY
Sanderson Farms Whole Chicken or Safeway Farms Chicken Drumsticks Thighs or Leg Quarters 99 cents lb
Fresh All Natural Whole Boneless Pork Loin Sold Whole in the Bag $1.99 lb
Prego Pasta Sauce 23.5 to 24 oz Select Varieties 2/$3
Red or Russet Potatoes 99 cents lb
Avocados 99 cents each
FRY'S
Assorted Pork Loin Chops Bone-in, Family Pack $1.49 lb (limit 2)
Blueberries 6 oz Buy 1 Get 1 Free ($save up to $2.99)
Red Tomatoes on the vine 99 cents lb
Cantaloupe 88 cents
Mini Seedless Watermelon 2/$3
SAVE ON PRODUCE
A few weekends ago, I posted my Saturday pick up from the Bountiful Baskets food co-op, and lots of my friends on Facebook and off asked about it. I realized it has been a couple of years since I brought it up so I am bringing it up again. When you join the co-op you get the opportunity to buy in on the week's pick up of fruits and vegetables plus additional items that you can purchase. You can sign up for a 50/50 fruit and vegetable combination or go for an organic basket (I usually just stick with the regular). In addition, there are opportunities to buy large quantities of other items like breads, tortillas, coconut oil and more. The site is very easy to navigate and there is participation spots all over Arizona from Anthem to Yuma and in between. You order between Monday afternoon and Tuesday evening and pick up on Saturday at the location required. The fruits and veggies below cost me $15 plus $1.50 (a service fee). At the time, the pineapple and small melon would have cost me $7 alone. Learn more by going to the website. Follow this link to learn more.
PS - Bountiful Baskets is available in some other states.
FREE CONCERT STREAMING
A few months ago, I shared about a free stream for TobyMac's WinterJam where you could watch the concert from the comfort of your own home for free through StageHop.com. This weekend there is another great concert you might want to check out. On Sunday, May 26 Show Hope grant families, supporters, and sponsors will gather together to celebrate the 10th anniversary for a celebration concert in Nashville. This concert will feature Laura Story, Audio Adrenaline, Andrew Peterson, Geoff Moore, Casting Crowns and Steven Curtis Chapman. You can celebrate with the families and children who have been blessed by Show Hope's ministry for free by signing up for the stream via StageHop.com. Sign up by following this link. The concert celebration begins at 7 pm CDT (that is 5 pm here in AZ).
FRUGAL ROAD TRIP DESTINATIONS
Okay the frugal here is in the destinations themselves. I have always wanted to head out to a big ole yard sale. The 127 Sale is the World's Largest yard sale and runs over 600 miles and runs from Michigan to Alabama. This year it will be held from August 1st through the 4th. Can you imagine what you can pick up at that? It is a total dream, but I do hope to gather and save up enough money to make it a road-trip reality. The 127 isn't the only gigantic yard sale around. Below are a few more you might like to check out and of course there are plenty more if you give a little search:
U.S 40 Yard Sale (Baltimore, MD to St. Louis, MO) - May 29 to June 2
Lincoln Highway Buy-Way Yard Sale (West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio) - August 8 to 10
400 Mile Sale (Runs through 60 communities in Kentucky) June 6 to 9
FREE MUSIC DOWNLOADS
New Release Tuesday has seven free song downloads including songs from House of Heroes and Shane & Shane.
FreeCCM has three free downloads this week including "Trouble" by Caedmon's Call.
FREE EBOOKS
Deployed - Called To Serve Series #1 by Mel Odom (CHRISTIANBOOK.COM) (AMAZON) (BARNES&NOBLE)
An Untamed Land (Red River of the North book 1) by Lauraine Snelling (AMAZON) (BARNES&NOBLE) (CHRISTIANBOOK.COM)
Southern Fried Sushi by Jennifer Rogers Spinola (CHRISTIANBOOK.COM) (AMAZON)
GROCERIES
ALBERTSONS
Pork Loin Back Ribs Previously Frozen Buy 1 get 3 Free (reg $8.99 lb)
USDA Choice Petite Sirloin Steaks Boneless Buy 1 get 2 Free (reg $8.99 lb)
New Crop California Corn 8 for $1
Coke, Pepsi, 7-up, or Shasta 12 pk, 12 oz Select VArieties 4/$9 (with minimum $25 purchase)
Best Foods Mayonnaise $2.99
SAFEWAY
Fresh 90% Lean Ground Beef $2.99 lb
Large Avocados 10/$10
Ragu Pasta Sauce 16-24 oz Selected varieties 2/$3
Bumble Bee Chunk Light Tuna 5 oz Selected Varieties 10/$10
Green Onions, Cilantro or Red Radishes 2/$1
FRY'S
Hebrew National Beef Franks 11-12 oz $1.97
Red Cherries $1.99 lb
Kool Aid, Country Time Drink Mix or Tang Select Varieties 10-12 ct or 6-8 qt 10/$10
Kroger Cheese Select Varieties 6-8 oz $1.79
Gold Pineapple Whole 2/$5
There's not much better than getting the opportunity to serve others. Tomorrow will be an early day for me. We are heading out to Phoenix at 5 am to be a part of HopeFest Phoenix 2013 where people can come in and get free medical care, dental care, clothing items, car seats, food, hair cuts and lots more. HopeFest will be held at Chase Field. :) It is so nice seeing the faith community and business community get together to help people with real needs. :) I'm so glad that CityServe AZ has spearheaded this wonderful outreach.
Here is a video from last year's HopeFest Phoenix.
Eating healthy and living a healthier lifestyle is important to me. So is losing weight. Because of this I have really been trying to pay attention to what motivates and inspires me as well as others. Anything to help me get there is important.
SOCIAL NETWORKING AND MEDIA
Nowadays lots of people have found weight loss inspiration via social networking. Via your smartphone you can log in and count your calories, log in your work outs, and check into your gym. You can join weight loss communities, tweet pics of your work out and recruit workout support groups with members miles and even states away and of course you can share your goals and work via Facebook.
I love all of these things though I must admit I haven't partaken in any of them to a large extent other than My Fitness Pal. I see though that the value is there. When you share your fitness goals online you have even more accountability. You also have an outlet to even more encouragement as you reach for your goals. I will definitely take that kind of encouragement over the aggravation that I feel when I try on outfits at Goodwill (I don't do a lot of department stores). I have decided to really invest more time with My Fitness Pal and also
downloaded Fooducate. I will see how these help me along before I go
further in app land anyway. :)
PEOPLE YOU KNOW
My co-worker gets inspiration from an old picture of himself from back in the day when he was substantially heavier. It reminds him of where he was and keeps him on track to achieving his goals. I get inspiration from him and from other friends. Seeing them make better food choices, work out , and have success in weight loss causes me to want to make better decisions too. I am also inspired by bloggers who are making strides in living a healthier lifestyle from women and men who are taking their first steps to those fitness gurus who seem to have it all together. I love them all, and they do help. Though really knowing someone and seeing them face-to-face makes the biggest difference for me.
RANDOM
I get several fitness magazines, and I love the stories in there of women who have lost lots of weight and how they got there. I love the exercise tips and I tear lots of sheets of these tips and stories and keep them in a binder. I also love using my Pinterest account to get motivation. Pinning motivation is pretty new for me. Lastly random documentaries have inspired me as well. I watched one that shared how pilots can't drink diet beverages before flying planes, It also shared how diet sodas contained what they called excitotoxins that kill off brain cells but it feels so good you just keep going. That was all I needed to hear. I stopped drinking diet sodas immediately, and I used to drink A LOT of diet soda. That was about four months ago.
How about you? How do you find your motivation to eat right and live healthy? I need all the tips I can get.
Taxes can be...well, taxing. We gather up all our paperwork, dot every i and cross every t and hope that everything will go smoothly. With all the stress that can come along with tax season, it is nice to get a couple of perks here and there. Here are a few perks to make the best out of tax season for you.
GREAT DEALS
Get a large up to 3 topping pizza at Papa John's plus a 2 Liter Pepsi product for $10.40 when you order online and use the code TAXSPC.
Get free value-sized curly fries or free small potato cakes with the coupon you can print at their site for tax day. Link here.
Chili's has a special coupon on their Facebook page for a free dessert or appetizer with the purchase of an adult entree with the coupon. It expires on 4/18. Facebook link here.
From 6-8 pm at participating Cinnabon locations, you can get two classic Cinnabon Bites for free on April 15th.
Sonic will treat you with half-priced drinks and slushies all day on Tax Day (check with your local Sonic to see if they are participating).
Hydromassage locations all over are giving a free massage with a printable coupon and appointment at participating locations (this link shows you Arizona locations - does not mean they are participating call and ask). The coupons are good from April 15 to 19.
Get a free black and white copy of your tax return up to 25 pages with a printable coupon from Office Depot...here. Shredding up to 5 lbs is also available via coupon which expires 5/1/13.
Get a free small popcorn with printable coupon at participating AMC theaters.
I have joined in a couple of blog hops here and there and I have really enjoyed each one and have found some pretty spectacular blogs to visit and follow. One that I have wanted to try was the Aloha Blog Hop. Today is my first chance! I am so stoked because I love hops, love Hawaii (my grandparents lived there when I was a kid), and love meeting others. If you haven't yet, check it out by clicking on the button above. Follow your hosts and co-hosts, visit and have fun....I intend to. :)
Since this is my first time hopping here, I thought I would share five quick things about myself at the top of my head.
1- I am married and the mom of a teenager.
2- I love to read. As a child that was my total escape.
3- I live in Arizona and am originally from California. I have also lived in the East Coast which means I love all things seafood (including clam cakes and chowder), maple, foliage, Dunkin' Donuts' coffee, and when irritated I tend to speak with a very strong accent that apparently is intimidating. Go figure. :)
4- I work at a radio station as a midday host. In addition, I share thrifty tips on air weekly during the morning show and work the front office as well (lots of multitasking in radio). Because of my job, I have developed a love for Christian contemporary music in addition to other genres. You ask, I probably know the song. :)
5- I am trying to lose weight. It is my total obsession right now. Currently I am following the 5/2 diet (or Fast Diet). It has been pretty successful so far, and I will be updating that progress this weekend.
Well, I am off to discover more blogs. Happy Hopping!
***Me and my son being silly.
