FINALLY FRIDAY ANIMAL SHELTER ALERT! AND MORE!!

I was visiting Brandie, over at Free Sample Freak this a.m., and she has a post about an animal shelter that is running out of money to feed the animals, and without donations of some kind, they are going to have to euthanize dogs for the first time ever! How incredibly sad is that?? Brandie read about this at Your Coupon Buddy:

"This isn't too far from my home. So I am calling on all my couponing buddies to come through for me on this one. There are coupons for Free Mighty Dog dog food in the 6/14SS. I am asking anyone who can to please mail me as many of this coupon as you have. I have about 60 so far, but I want to get as many as possible to help feed these animals for as long as possible. I'd love to get a huge response and get a happy ending to this story on the news.

Please let me know if you can help and how many you can send, so I have an idea, either in a comment or via email to yourcouponbuddy@gmail.com .

Please mail to: Your Coupon Buddy, P.O. Box 181, Forney, Texas 75126"

Personally, I know that I have at least 2 or 3 to send her, along with some other pet coupons that might help this shelter. If you could, check out the link to your coupon buddy and read this for yourself. Then, check through your coupon stash and see if you have any that you could send. I am a huge animal lover, and this really made me sad!

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In the mood for something Free? After I read about the animal shelter, and was feeling all kinds of sad, I ran across this post about a free cell phone holder: Free Cell Phone ~~~~~~~ I was excited to see this, as I was just telling teen daughter, yesterday, that I really need a new holder! :)

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I'm not really into chocolate, but I wanted to remind all of you that today is the FREE chocolate day:

Starting from 8 AM until 11 AM (Central Time) you can sign up for FREE Chocolate from Mars...get a coupon and choose what kind of chocolate you want (you can get up to 4 of them). Every Friday until Sept. 25, 2009.

**Thanks to Brandie at free sample freak for the above info! **

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MyNiceSpace.com
Good Morning!! I have decided that Monday's are just not my day....First of all, the phone woke me up, I ran down the stairs, missed the bottom 2 stairs, and just about landed in a heap. Then, no matter what I did with my computer, it kept wanting to do what IT wanted to DO. So, I just left IT alone for awhile! HAHA.....then, I noticed that it rained again last night, and I forgot to bring in my chair cushions on the deck. Bummer. Now they are all yucky wet. Hmmmm....Monday's are out to get me!!
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When IT (the computer) decided to finally let me on, I started cruising around and found a great new site: nickels-n-dimes. Ooooohhh....I really like this one. Becky has listed some great printables for:

June 21-27 CVS or Walgreens. I just printed the Walgreens ones, and plan to take them with me today. I get to go past the Big Town today, on the way to yet another teen daughter Ortho appt., and I plan to make a quick exit off the interstate to so a little shopping. I wonder how long my "quick exit" will take! :)

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Common Sense With Money has a great post about a fantastic Meijer deal going on right now. Guess what store is also in the Big Town?! You got it...MEIJER! YAY!!

While I was reading about the posts at Common Sense, there was one that really caught my eye. It was a guest post written by Angela Russell from the Coupon Project. It is very informative, and I got alot out of the article! This is what it says at the bottom of the article:

"Angela is the author of The Coupon Project, a blog chronicling her real life couponing adventures. Her goal is to encourage and educate other newbie couponers how to enjoy amazing money-saving success through easy-to-follow posts. "
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Anyone up for more yummy treats? Check out this one that I found over at Free Sample Freak:

Print a coupon for $1 off any medium or large frozen beverage from Baskin Robbins. Coupon is valid thru 7/18/09. Thanks Brandie!! Don't forget to sign up with Baskin Robbins Birthday Club and receive a free Ice Cream on your birthday!

TUESDAY, TUESDAY!

Good Morning Everyone!! I can tell that school is out, because my schedule is all out of whack! I'm not complaining, because I love the kids being home, but I am going to have to re-work my blogging time. For some reason, the kids like to use the computer, also! LOL!

Anyway, we are also going to have a busy, busy week, because my Dad's oldest brother passed away on Sunday, and because of the funeral, my sister Danesa and girls are coming from Ohio to stay here. My Dad had 14 siblings; two died when they were little and one other brother passed away a few years ago. So, this is going to be a large funeral. Mom and I are going to postpone her weekly Mom Minutes until next week, as she is just a little bit busy at this moment!

Before the week gets too crazy, and I lose all track of time (HA!), I wanted to welcome my newest member, kAyE over at random wahm thoughts. She is the gal that created my beautiful name siggy. If any of you have time, check out her blog and leave a friendly bloggy comment!!

Rose over at obstacles and glories nominated me for this AWESOME award! I have never seen this award, so I was really, really excited to receive it from her! Here are the rules: (I copied them from her blog)

♥ Take your award and put the logo on your post.

♥Link the person who awarded you. Remember each recipient of the award should acknowledge the person who honored them and go to Mom's Special Diary to copy and paste the award.

♥Put your own blog title and link.

♥Nominate at least five deserving moms.

1. Mom's Special Diary
2. Obstacles & Glories
3. The Busy Borgerding Bunch
4. Together We Save
5. Three Plus 2

I have lots and lots and lots more that I could post, but I made myself limit it to five. So, even though you don't see your name listed, just know that you are also a Creative Mom Blogger!!

When I was "cruising the sites," I found this over at Mash Up Mom: Check this out — there’s a bunch of Children’s Place stuff on clearance at Amazon.com for $.19-$.99 each! $5.00 shipping, but if you buy a bunch, it evens out pretty nicely :)

This is an incredible deal! I am going to see what I can find, and really, when you look at it this way, $5.00 isn't too much for shipping, if you can get it sent right to your door! It would cost me tons more if I had to drive to the Big Town to do my shopping!!

Facebook has a FREE HOT Photo Book from Hot Prints (you have to use the photos from your Facebook or a friends)! This is a $2.99 value! It will say $2.99 under the total but at checkout it turns to $0.00, it is absolutely free! It is available to the first 10,000 so HURRY! I am doing mine right now and it is soooo cute! **It worked just fine, the order went through, and my teen daughter is over-the-moon Happy! :)** Big Thank you to Brandie over at free sample freak for posting this!!

Well, I am off and running; My sister and her two daughters will be here in a few hours (from Ohio) and then we will be busy, busy, busy. Please keep my family in your thoughts as we say a final "farewell" to my beloved Uncle, and I know that he is resting in peace, finally, after a long, hard-fought, tough battle with Parkinson's Disease. God is faithful to those who love and serve Him, and my Uncle was a wonderful example of how we should live our lives, and he was also a wonderful Christian husband, brother, father, grandfather, uncle, and great-uncle!! :)

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY MOM MINUTES AND MUCH, MUCH, MORE!!

Yes, today is WEDNESDAY and that means, (drum roll please), MOM MINUTES!

Only my Mom could find the silver lining in this scenario.......while she and my teen daughter were busy discussing everything and anything on the phone, she was having a minor melt-down and was telling me, via teen daughter, all about it. Come to find out, she had spilled milk ALL OVER the inside of her refrigerator (I still don't know how she managed that!) and she was busy cleaning it out. "Oh well," said she, "At least I have a clean frig now!" I probably would have been saying a little more than that, and it would NOT have been pleasant! LOL!! :)

Without further ado, here are the MOM Minutes by A.Marie's Mom, Earlene:

Every kitchen and bathroom should be fully stocked with an emergency clean-up kit. Have you ever had something messy happen (like milk spilling in a refrig....sorry, Mom, I just had to add that one! :)) and you have had to scurry and scrounge around for a rag, a cloth, a bucket, etc. Well, if you have a handy carry-all parked under your kitchen or bathroom sink, or on a shelf in your laundry or coat closet, then when the unexpected messy events happen, all you have to do is GRAB AND GO!

My highly recommended list of "MUST HAVES" for life's unexpected little surprises:

1. Broom and Dustpan
2. Wet Wipes (these work great for little messes on counter tops, floors, doors, etc.
3. Paper Towels - Bounty is best (did you know that individual rolls are best, because multi-rolls tend to be inferior. I read that somewhere, and it is true!!
4. Medium Size Kitchen Gloves (protects hands!)
5. Carpet Cleaner Spray or Foam
6. Soft Scrub, Ajax, or Comet
7. Tide-to-Go sticks for emergency clothing stains
8. Clorox Bleach products (for blood accidents) like Formula 409
9. Sponge(s) and Rags (I like to use cut-up old t-shirts or towels)
10. Fantastik (great degreaser and kills bacteria at the same time!)
11. Spic and Span and Pine Sol or Mr. Clean -- for finished floors

Just put all of these in a container (I like to use a divided bucket with a handle , like the picture above; available at astore.amazon.com) and I tuck it away in a handy location. If your bucket is smaller, and you don't have a lot of room for full-size products, you can pour some of the cleaner into a smaller bottle, clearly label what is inside, and store that in your bucket. Now, when life gets messy, you're ready! :)

Next week, I'll be posting on organizing your medicine cabinet and readying your First Aid Kit for vacations and family outings. So, tune in next Wednesday for more "Mom Minutes!"

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I have a new follower, and want to say a big WELCOME to JoeMill over at Brief Stories. I really enjoyed reading the posts, and found them very interesting. I would have probably never found this blog on my own; that's why it is so fun to have new followers! It gives me a chance to get acquainted! So, if you have time, cruise on over there and leave a comment! :)
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I am a true animal lover, and I have multiple cats, (but only one dog), and I was really excited to find this post at Free Sample Freak. The list of free and high dollar coupons includes:

• Get a free tube of Advantage K9 Advantix or Advantage Multi for Dogs
• Get a free tube of Advantage or Advantage Multi for Cats
• $15 off coupon for Advantage K9 Advantix or Advantage Multi for Dogs
• $15 off coupon for Advantage or Advantage Multi for Cats
• Free Starter Pack of Primal Pet Foods

Check here for the complete list! Now that it is definitely flea/tick season, these will come in very handy! Thank you, Brandie!

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Freebies 4 Mom: Arby's Free Chicken Club w/Drink Purchase.....Today is Wednesday, and that means that *some* Arby's are doing their summer promos. Call first to see if yours is participating! Big Thanks to Heather at freebies4mom for the link.

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Freebies 4 Mom: Sonic Free Route 44 Drink on receipt...Do you have a Sonic near you?? You'll want to check out this link to see how you can receive a FREE Route 44 drink (this supersized drink normally costs about $1.79!!)

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SUPER SENSATIONAL SATURDAY SHOUT OUT AND SAMPLES!! WOO-HOO

***ISN'T THIS LOVELY, LOVELY, LOVELY!! ***

Isn't bloggy world the best?? In the space of one week, I have been given this award by two different people. How exciting is that?? I absolutely love this award, and when I first started out blogging, I would notice it on other people's blogs, and could not wait for the day that I would have it on my blog. Well, tada, that day is today!

** I feel bad, because I know that someone else, a little while ago, nominated me for this, and when I tried to find it again, I could not remember who nominated me! So, if you read this, please know that I was not ignoring your wonderfulness in thinking of me....I just couldn't find you again! :)**

Here are the rules:

1) Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link.

2) Pass the award on to 5 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

The two bloggers who nominated me are:

STACEY over at all stace
ACE over at if you think round is funny

I love to visit both of these gal's blogs, because they write such great posts! If you have time today, check them out!!

This award ties in nicely with what I usually blog about on Saturday's. I try and do a Super Sensational Saturday Shout-Out and post about a blog that I have found during the week. Except today, in keeping with the rules, I will be Shout-Outing (5) FIVE other blogs. WHAT FUN! I have thought alot about who I will nominate, and finally narrowed it down to:

1. ROSE over at Obstacles And Glories


2. Kim over at Musings Of A Pastry Case


3. Mandatory Blog Here


4. Dan River Mama at A Kiss And A Peck


5. Annyara at Healthy-And-Happy

So, when you have time this weekend, visit their blogs and post a comment. They'll appreciate it, and you'll make a new bloggy friend! :)

Also, check out these free samples that I found:

Fill in your info and get free trivets...These look very strange, but I filled out my info anyway. Hopefully, it will really come! **Thanks to Brandie over at free sample freak for finding this!

Free Nexcare Give Bandages. Working again.Link: Nexcare Give

Get a Free Printable Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste coupon. Good for trial size (Up to $1.25 retail value). Link: Aqua Fresh

**Thanks to Indy Money for the Nexcare and Aquafresh info!**

THIS ISN'T A FOR-EVERYBODY FREEBIE, BUT I IJUST HAD TO POST IT FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE BANK OF AMERICA CUSTOMERS: museums.bankofamerica

Bank of America customers can get free admission to select museums. There are only select dates during the summer months that this is good for, but you can get more info by visiting their website.

THRIFTY THURSDAY.....AND NEW FOLLOWERS! WOO-HOO!!

GOOD MORNING! I was so excited to see that I have two new followers! I'd like to give a Big WOO-HOO Welcome and HELLO to Jack over at cigamybab and Cen over at censloft. If you have time today, cruise by their blogs and say hello!!

I have been noticing that gas prices are coming up again (ugh!) and with summer vacation fast approaching, I have been scouring the internet for ways to get the most mileage from my aged-but-still-running 1998 van. As I was googling and exploring, I came across some interesting articles that I thought were interesting.

ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt064.shtm

This next tip took me by surprise!! I am such an el-cheepo driver; I always just put in about $10-$15 worth of gas, because I absolutely HATE paying $50-$60 to fill up my van. But, as this next tip clearly states, that has been just about the dumbest thing I could have done:

• When you fill up with gas, fill up completely and try and keep your tank above one third full. If your fuel runs low, the engine might not receive a steady supply of gas (since it will splash around while you're driving and it might momentarily splash away from the tube that leads gas out of the tank). Not having a steady supply of gas will make your engine less efficient. The benefits of having a full tank will outweigh the drawbacks of having the added weight.


• wikihow - more great tips on improving mileage


• Lighten your load. Get the lightest car that will serve your needs. Weight is one of the biggest causes for loss of kinetic energy in non hybrid cars. If you're not shopping for cars, then take any extra weight off of the one you're already driving. If seats that you don't use can be removed, take them out. If you use your trunk as a storage space for heavy things, find another place for them. An extra 100 pounds increases fuel consumption by 1-2%.


• Gas credit cards are a very helpful way to save anywhere from 5% and beyond on each gallon. Why pay full price when you can get a discount with your credit card? That leads me to my next tip:


• find gas cards - some of the best gas credit cards are listed here.

I personally use the Discover Open Road card; I have received about $40 back from my gas purchases. That is just like being handed FREE MONEY just for using my credit card! When the amount reaches $50, I will then be able to cash it out, and I'll put the $$ it into my vacation savings account. Every little bit helps! :)

Anybody else having any good gas-saving tips?? Feel free to let me know!! :):)

I'm telling you what, Brandie, over at free sample freak is the queen of all things free! I was visiting her blog today, and she has got the best deals posted. Here are a few that I found interesting!

YAY! June 3rd is National Float Night! Go to your local Sonic and get a free 10oz Root Beer Float! Offer is good from 8pm to closing time. Sign up for the Sonic Cruisers Fan Club and get a once-a-month newsletter with coupons, promotions and more. Also, you'll get a special freebie on your birthday!

Starting at 9 am, Burt's Bees is giving away 25,000 Burt's Bees beeswax lip balms! They are giving away 25,000 lip balms in 25 days. It's a sweepstakes, because 1,000 are randomly given away each day between 9 am and Noon EST. But, I think you can enter each day. There has been alot of confusion about this one, but between Brandie and Heather at freebies4mom, I think I have got this figured out now!

**Big Thanks to Brandie and Heather! Be sure to visit their sites for more awesome deals* *

FINALLY FRIDAY!!! YIPPEE!!

My "Old Boy" Cody...He is 13 yrs
Well, we have all made it to FINALLY FRIDAY! We had an 8th grade promotion last evening, and tonight, we have a high school graduation to attend. I enjoy going, but since our school does not have air conditioning, it gets VERY HOT in that gym.

I found some great deals and advice when I was doing my usual cruising around bloggy world. To start off, I was over at Alicia's blog at cheap or free thats for me, and she mentioned about coupons.com having a printable Country Time lemonade coupon! I had just checked there a few days ago, and I never saw it. But, I went this morning, and there it was!! I was able to print off two; since we are in charge of a family reunion in a few weeks, and we provide the drinks, this will be a very inexpensive (and delicious!) drink to serve!! Woo-Hoo!! Print them ASAP, because I predict that this coupon will go fast.......:):) **Thank you Alicia!! **

Then, I came across this great post about how to possibly print those coupons that just sometimes REFUSE to print. Here is what she says: "Ever run into a link that someone has posted that is the actual "bricks" URL (not the website it was extracted from) and you can't print it? Wanna know why? It's because they extracted it on a computer that was using an internet browser which is NOT the one you're currently using...." For more about this, click here : Mommy's Wish List: Change Bricks URLs to print on your browser. She gives all the details!! A Big Thanks to Lea Ann at mommyswishlist for the fantastic article!

MARS REAL CHOCOLATE RELIEF ACT!! Brandie over at free sample freak has the info on this freebie. I didn't have any trouble getting through, and hubby will be very excited to have some free chocolate!! :) **Thank you Brandie!!**

Any other great deals that you know of?? Let me know, and I'll be sure to post it and give you the credit!! A Little Linky Love Makes The World Go 'Round.....:):)

MONEY MISSION MONDAY MADNESS - - AS USUAL!

Good Morning! I hope that all of you had a very restful weekend, and are ready to "do the deals" this week! I am actually planning on going to Wal-Mart and Walgreens today, in the BIG town that is next to my SMALL town; I really don't want to drive there, but I need to get stocked up on groceries! So, between feeding the fur-babies and the human "babies," and making sure that everyone leaves the house in one piece, I'm almost wore out!!

Before I start rambling on about the deals, I want to give a Big Money Mission Woo-Hoo to my latest follower, Willa (#18!), over at fickle minded. I found her while "doing the drop" with Entrecard, and I am glad that I did! She has got such a neat blog; it is filled with all sorts of cool gadget-y things. Check out my sidebar... I got my latest gadget from her blog!

To start off the great deals, click on this link: kraft foods.com. It brings up a rebate form that you can send away for a utility bill rebate, depending on how many Tombstone pizzas you purchase. There were Tombstone pizza coupons that I printed off of coupons.com last week, so I am definitely going to check this out!

Also, as I was cruising through bloggy world, I found this great post by The Good Deal Gal: *Possible* FREE DiGiornio Flatebread Melt on May 18th. You'll want to check this out as soon as you can, because it only runs through today (MONDAY). A big thanks to the Good Deal Gal for this awesome post!! **It is 6:03am and my submission went through. So, there is still time. But hurry, it is only for the first 100,000!**

Then, when I was signing up for samples on the Wal-Mart site, I found out about the FREE ICE CREAM GIVEAWAY!! Since I knew I had also just read this somewhere, on someone's blog, I started looking and sure enough, I found it!
Get free Ice Cream at Walmart on May 30th, 2009 from 11am-4pm. There are 4 Ice Cream samples to choose from including: a 1.57 fl oz Dibs Snack Bag, a 2.4 fl oz Blue Bunny Aspen Frozen Yogurt Granola Bar, or a 4 fl oz. Ben and Jerry's Flipped Out Cup! Find the closest participating Walmart near you! Thanks to Brandie at free sample freak for the awesome post! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*WHOOP...WHOOP...WHOOP...I want to interrupt my regularly scheduled Monday Madness...which, by the way, is still going on.....long story.... to give a Big WOO-HOO Welcome to Desiree over at three plus 2. I am sooooo excited! I just found her blog today, and I was thrilled to see that she has twin girls. My faithful bloggy readers and friends know that I also have a twin sister, so Desiree is especially special to me already!! Any Mom who can raise twins is a SuperWoman in my eye!! I was a Nanny for twin baby boys for a year before I got married. I know the work and blessings that are involved! I'd do it all over again, though. I named my son after one of the twins!! So, cruise on over there and check out her blog! :)

SUPER SENSATIONAL SATURDAY!!

It's Super Sensational Saturday time, and to kick it off with a bang, I have a great post from Nicole over at nicoles nickels. It is about magazines that have hidden coupons in them. These are magazines that usually do not have great coupons, so I was pleasantly surprised to realize that I have one of them just sitting on my "magazine stash" that I haven't even looked through yet!

Nicole's Nickels: Coupons in Magazines

I want to also give a big Woo-Hoo Thanks to Brandie over at free sample freak for alerting her readers to Nicole's site. I wouldn't have found this if it wasn't for her. Be sure to check out Brandie's site today; she has got some great Mother's Day info and a HUGE list of Arby's Freebies for this summer!! :)

BIG SUPER SENSATIONAL SATURDAY THANKS TO NICOLE AND BRANDIE!!