Problem Customers

Is it just me or does the auto industry attract the weirdos?

I feel like if there is a nutjob, mentally unstable or flat out asshole within 200 miles, they will come to this shop. I have to deal with jerks every single day, either in person or on the phone.

I have had to deal with enough today to make me want to not show up tomorrow. It has been BAD. As if Mondays aren't hard enough. At least we get to make fun of them after they leave.

This just happened---
Dude (shirtless with his at least 60 year old man boobs swinging around): You all worked on my car about a year ago.
Me (trying not to LoL at the naked man boobs): Mmmkkay. So what can I help you with?
Dude: Well I had the spare key tied up under my bumper and it isn't there anymore.
I look up his repair from a year ago.
Me: Well, it looks like we replaced that bumper, so your key is long gone by now.
Dude: Well where the hell would it have gone!
Me: It more than likely got sent to the trash, along with the bumper it was tied to. Because my techs didn't turn one in. It would be right here in this empty drawer.
Dude: What do you mean it got thrown away! It is a $70 key!
Me: But we took off that bumper and replaced it with another bumper, like YOU asked us to do. We had no way of knowing you hid your spare key somewhere in it.
Dude: Is there a MAN somewhere around here I can talk to?
Me: Sure there is. He isn't going to tell you anything different than I just did.
Over walks Jack.
Jack: We don't have your key that you hid in your bumper from a year ago.
Dude: You mean that they didn't take the key and hang it up somewhere?
Jack: No. We didn't hang up the key that we didn't even know was in there.
Dude: But it was a $70 key!
Jack: Aaannnddd?
Dude: Pfffhhhhtttt. Sugar, you better put something in that doomahickey about this.
Me: My name is not Sugar. And by Doomahicky, you mean what exactly?
Jack: You mean the ESTIMATE file?
Dude: Yeah, that.
Me: ...........whatever you say.

First, don't dismiss what I am saying just because I am a chick. Bad idea. Believe it or not, I DO sometimes know what I am talking about.

Totally different, semi-related story to the one above--
I promise that just because you call it a "Back Windowshield", I know for sure that it is really called "Rear Glass" or even a "Hatch Glass". And there is absolutely NO way that I am supposed to know that you really mean your "Driver's Window". Do NOT get shitty with me when it is completely the wrong piece of glass because YOU gave me the wrong information. Take it somewhere else if you want a mind reader. Or someone who is still nice to you after all that.

And while I am on the subject....yes, we do need ALL that information about you. Like your name, address, phone number, insurance company and if we are lucky a claim number and a claim representative phone number. How are we supposed to know who the hell you are and how the hell we are supposed to get paid? Don't give me attitude when I ask you these questions.

I think that is enough ranting about stupid people for today. There might be more tomorrow though.

Uh oh

Shit. I just remembered that Hubbs' birthday is in 14 days and I haven't gotten him anything. Ooohhhhh, bad wife.

He is SO hard to buy for. I have already maxed out the summertime type gifts like BBQ sets and games like croquet and boccie ball. He REALLY likes beer so one year I got him some home-brewing books but those didn't go over so well. I am at a loss.

So help me out? He likes golf, the Yankees, WoW, cooking, Jeff Gordon, the lawn, beer, chick flicks, and stupid jokes. Yes, he is borderline hillbilly. No, we have nothing in common.

What do I get him? I need 3 gifts. One from me and 2 from the boys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On a more positive note, I bought the first Christmas present this morning! Amazon.com had a smoking deal on Guitar Hero World Tour Kit thing for the PS3. Complete with the drums, 1 guitar, a microphone and the game. It was $100 off regular price and my amazon gift cards made the deal too good to pass up. So Monk Man is getting Guitar Hero World Tour Kit thing for the PS3. If I can keep myself from opening it up early. We bought all the games and the PS2 kit a long time ago but the drums broke, the neighbors borrowed the guitar, the microphone never did work, and all the games are scratched now so it is pretty much useless for the PS2.

I LOVE Guitar Hero and Rock Band. We have wasted many many many hours playing those silly games. I am probably more excited about it than Monk Man will be.

Bobblehead's First Day of Daycare

I had to take Bobblehead to his first day of daycare today.

My mom usually watches him while I work, but everybody over there has been sick all weekend. My mom called me in a panic last night about not being able to watch him. Hubbs suggested that I call Monk Man's daycare to see if she could take him, just for one day.

She said of course she would take him.

Monk Man was SO excited that Bobblehead was going to daycare with him. He has been begging for months for his brother to go with him.

Drop off had never went so smoothly. Bobblehead acted a little shy and kinda scared. He hid behind me until Monk Man took his hand and lead him into the back room with all the toys and stuff. I yelled bye and left before he could figure out what was going on.

On Monk Man's first day of daycare, I was a hot mess. I think I cried all day. With Bobblehead, eh, not upset at all. I am actually a little relieved for him not to be at my moms for a change. Maybe he will turn out a little more normal than I am.

New Survey Site

I got an email this morning from Market Reader Pro. I did some swagging on it and didn't find anything too discouraging about it. The main complaint I read was about the time it took to get the reward money once cashed out.

Everything looks legit to me. They didn't ask me for my paypal account or credit card info so that seems to be a good sign.

So it looks like Market Reader Pro is not only a survey site but a product testing site as well. I will keep you all informed if/when I get any more surveys or a surprise product to test.

Do any of you use this company already? If you have any experience with them, please leave me a comment!

About HPC

I will explain about "Hour of Power Cleaning" or HPC.



First, why I had to start it.

Well, I suck at the whole housewife part of life. Cooking, cleaning, organizing, all of it. Don't get me wrong, my home isn't dirty. A little dusty and cluttered, but not gross.

Anybody remember Red Bull Fridays? I used to drink a Bull on Friday afternoons and stay up late cleaning the house all at once. Well, that really didn't work out too well. Hubbs would either try to help and get in the way or he would sit on World of Divorcecraft and bitch about how loud the music was or how loud the vacuum was or even that the dust was getting on his precious computer.

So I gave up trying to do anything extra at all. The house would get it's daily quick pick up. I would mop when it needed it, the dishes would get done when I had a half full sink, the bathroom would get cleaned when it needed it, I would vacuum once in a while. Nothing but the basics got done.

So Sunday, after the madness of cleaning for the Houseparty, I was sitting in the living room watching Monk Man play the PS3 and I decided that I was sick of looking at all the crap everywhere.

We have a lot of shit. And it is all over the place. Nothing has a "set spot" really.

So I decided that as a family, we were going to reserve an hour every day to do major cleaning. Hubbs has decided to use that hour to actually HELP me clean but stay out of my way. The kids are having to pick up ALL their shit that they scattered all over the house. The only rule is: once the HPC is started, no one gets to be distracted. It HAS to be finished.

I am focusing on 1 area of 1 room at a time.

For example, on Monday, we have this antique buffet that was piled with all kinds of stuff. That is what I tackled. I cleaned off the shelves above it (which were also piled with junk), organized it, got everything that didn't belong there in the room it did belong in and even dusted.

Last year I decided that the boys needed fish. I don't know why I thought they needed them, just that they did. Well, MIL brought us Hubbs' childhood fish tank all the way from Colorado and I put it on the buffet. And it sat there, not filled with fish but filled with decks of cards, marbles, Wii controllers and other odds and ends. Nunk (my little brother) inherited a turtle (named Timmy) recently and it was living in a teeny plastic tank. As it turns out, he stopped by right as I was finishing up cleaning everything out of the tank and he got to take it home. I killed 2 birds with 1 stone. He got a new to him fish tank for Timmy and I got a clean buffet.

Wednesday, while Hubbs was cleaning somewhere in the kitchen, he discovered a diaper box full of games that had been taken away from the boys who knows how long ago. I had forgotten about it of course. So yesterday I tackled the games. The correct game discs in the correct game boxes. Our extra consoles got put away in a box to be put in the yard sale, our controllers got untangled and were put in a basket next to the TV.

I finally feel like I am getting something accomplished. Yay!

Lost and Found

Ohhhh, I forgot. I found my camera last night during my "Hour of Power Cleaning". Yeah....more on the HPC tomorrow. Maybe.

Where did I find it?

On top of the fridge. Where I put it so I wouldn't lose it. It was between 2 Easter Baskets full of candy. How did I miss THAT? LoL Whoops.

I would have found it last month except that every time I started to clean off the top of the fridge, somebody distracted me. I got tired of starting and not being able to finish so I gave up.

Still can't find the little cable thingy that connects the camera to the computer though.

Whoah

What the hell?

First Ed McMahon dies Tuesday, then Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson today?

That whole "everything happens in 3's" shit is scary accurate.

Writers Block

Crap. I have been staring at these blank boxes trying to get something (anything) posted today but I am just stuck.

Like always, I have a ton to say but am having a hard time getting it out of my head and down to the keyboard.

I guess I will try again tomorrow.

Dominos Houseparty Party

I threw my Dominos Houseparty on Saturday and it was a big hit!

I ran to Safeway on Friday since I got off work early. It was the first time in months that I didn't use a stack of coupons and I felt a little guilty for spending so much money ($79) but $35 of it was in beer. I had a brain fart and forgot to even look for coupons to use......oh well.

I went down to Dominos in person to order the pizzas around 1:00, because if something was going to go wrong with an order, it would have happened to me. I ordered 6 medium American Legends pizzas and 1 medium cheese pizza. I used the $75 gift card with no problem and after tax and the delivery charge it was only about $10 out of my pocket.

The party was scheduled to start at 2:00 and everybody had showed up by 2:10. My friends and family normally don't read clocks very well and most of the time they are 20-30 minutes late to things. The pizza arrived right at 2:00 and all the boxes almost took up my whole kitchen counter space. There was only room for the cake and the pizza. I set out the salad, dressing, chips, dips, cutlery and plates on the kitchen table.

Hubbs had borrowed a long yard sale type table from his dad and that was set up in the front yard for the drinks. The canned sodas and the beer were in ice chests under the tables and the juice, bottled drinks, water, cups and straws were set up on the table.

The only bad thing was that I couldn't find my damn camera. It wasn't on top of the fridge like I thought it was so I didn't get any pictures but FIL did. I am waiting for him to email them to me.

The party started winding down around 4:30 but I still had people at our house when I went to bed at 11:00. In my defense, the people left were my brother, Hubbs' cousin and a couple of Hubb's friends so I wasn't being rude by going to bed.

To All The Husbands

One of the coupon girls posted this.

Men, learn this and remember this!

This is for husbands of women frequently referred to as "coupon ladies" or better yet this is for the husbands of women that have just discovered "couponing". Here are some rules, hints, and suggestions:

1. "Couponers" have their own special communication/ language that they use to communicate with each other. You will need to learn this language if you ever plan on having a conversation with your wife again. A small example of what your wife might say to you: "Honey, I went to Wags and BOGOed shaving cream which was a MM because it produced a RR. And then I went with my GC to Rite Aid and got the items that were FAR which turned into a MM as well. And then because I had some expiring ECBs went and got some of the MM items at CVS too. We really need to get some more ink for the computer so I can print more IPs."I would translate that sentence but I got lost at the first BOGO.

2. Real men do indeed shave with pink razors if that is what was free or nearly free in the past few months. You will also find that your shaving cream now smells lightly floral and comes in light pink or green cans.

3. Your favorite foods will become a thing of the past as you learn to eat new and exotic foods. Some you will like. I never knew that ice cream from various manufacturers could taste so different, but I am willing to taste them. Some you won't like. Kashi – it takes a special man to admit to liking twigs and sticks and this man does not.

4. Your soap now has green netting around the bar of soap so that it doesn't slip out of your hand while showering or your body wash smells like cucumbers, coconut, melons, etc… I am not fond of the body wash that smells like a Moroccan massage parlor. When you are meeting up with your buds to work on a car you really do not want to smell like a Moroccan massage parlor. But you will learn to smile and hide the pain. Just gently tell her "Honey I think these would be a great item to donate to charity."

5. You will find stockpiles of items in the least expected places. I went to the coat closet to find my work boots. On the floor instead of my boots were stacks and stacks of toilet paper. Ummm, do we really need to have enough toilet paper for the whole subdivision for the next year? According to my wife the answer is yes. Men, you will learn to respond by saying the following, "Of course dear, you are right."

6. Your friends and family instead of coming over to watch a football game now come to shop at your home for groceries and green bottles of shampoo and conditioner.

7. You will learn not to disturb your wife on nights when the sales paper comes out. Especially if she has her "coupon binder" and is "matching up sales". Hint: In the event of a fire – don't bother grabbing the insurance papers, grab her coupon binder.

8. Do not even think of arranging anything on Sunday's before or after church as she is busy hitting up the stores with coupons.

9. You will discover that your meek, mild and loving wife turns into a fire breathing creature you never knew existed if a cashier or store manager tells her that the reason she did not get her RR was because she used a coupon or that she can't use a particular coupon. Pray hard if they accuse her of coupon fraud. If this occurs you will discover her speed dial #s 1-10, well none of them call you. They are reserved for the corporate headquarters of her favorite stores.

10. Never ever ask why she is bringing home 5 more tubes of toothpaste when you already have 100 plus tubes in the guest bedroom closet. Suffice it to say if she brought it home, just tell her what a fabulous shopper she is and how proud you are of her.

11. You will start to recognize other husbands of "coupon ladies". Look at their lunch. Do they have children's juice boxes as drinks, packs of starkist tuna (I do believe we have more tuna in the guest bedroom then our local grocery store has on their shelves.), small toothbrushes called Wisps, they smell slightly floral and there is a small handmade coupon good for BOGO kisses and hugs.

There are many more things I could relate to you, but when it is all said and done you will discover she has saved you a lot of money and it seems to make her happy.

And when she is happy …. So am I.

The Hotness

Sully Erna from Godsmack

I have been listening to Godsmack since I first heard Voodoo, many many years ago. I never paid attention to what the band looked like. It wasn't a big deal since looks don't affect how the music sounds.

Well yesterday I heard Godsmack's new song, Whisky Hangover, and wanted to know what the band has been up to. I went to their website for the first time (which is pretty neat) and started browsing. Ran across the band photo gallery and was amazed.

Hotnessssss. I have always had a weakness for musicians though.

The tattoos, the piercings, the hair, the motorcycles. And that voice! Who would have thought that THAT voice would come out of that dude. Totally not what I expected.

I am going to stop before I sound like a crazy, stalker fangirl. Shudder. BTW, their new song was released in anticipation of the Crue-Fest 2. No new album yet, unless I skipped over something while I was reading.

Dominos House Party

I got my House Party Package on Friday afternoon. It was shipped in a Domino's Pizza box which I thought was cute. UPS smashed and crashed the box as usual. The stuff inside was okay though.


They sent a Domino's ball point pen, a Domino's note pad, a free "You Gotta Be Kidding!" card game, and a stack of coupons. The coupons were for 1 Medium Domino's American Pizza Legends Pizza for $10.99 and get a Medium Cheese Pizza for $3.99 with the purchase of a Large Domino's American Legends Pizza, AMC Entertainment free large popcorn when you buy a large Coca-Cola fountain drink, $2.00 off Zoemondo board games and a $75 gift card to Domino's Pizza.

So far, most of my guests have RSVP'd. My mom wants nothing to do with my "internet schemes" and has deleted both of the invitations I have sent her for my sisters. Nice. Well, whatever, we will have fun without her.

I still have sooooo much to do. And only today, Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning to do it all by.
~I still have to track down some long, yard sale type tables, some folding chairs and a couple of ice chests.
~I still have to buy ice, beer, plastic cups, paper plates, plastic silverware, napkins,
~I still have to figure out what dessert I am serving. I am thinking easy....maybe half of a sheet cake. I also need to put together a salad of some sort.
~The yard still has to be cleaned up. Our 2 dogs have guaranteed that I will be on landmine patrol right before the guests show up. We also need to mow and cut down some weeds by the trampoline.
~I still need to buy citronella candles and some decorations.
~I have GOT to find my camera and unload the pictures from it.
~I still need to clean off the patio so we have somewhere shaded to sit and eat.
~I still need to clean the bathroom and mop my floors. The top of the fridge needs to be cleaned off too.
~I still need to clean out my liquor cabinet and decide what I am going to set out for the guests. What goes good with pizza other than beer???
~I still need to decide on what to do about music. We have lots of cd's but my taste in music isn't "party appropriate" and Hubbs only likes country and that won't be playing because I don't want to sit through the party annoyed and semi-depressed. XM Sirius radio pop2k or classic rock are looking pretty good right now.

I have accomplished SOME stuff though.
~I have bags of chips and tons of salsa and dips to serve.
~The house has been picked up, for the most part.
~The flowers are planted so things don't look quite so bare.
~All of my invites have been sent out or called on or hand delivered.
~The pizza has been priced, the sizes have been decided and the order is waiting for me to submit.
~I have soda, juice and water ready for the kids and non-drinkers.
~I have salad dressing.

Who would have thought so much effort would have to go into a crazy pizza party? What am I forgetting?

After I Am Debt Free

As some of you know, I have been on the Dave Ramsey plan for around a year and a half. We started out with $56,000+ in credit card and medical debt, $15,000+ car debt, and around $10,000 in other (family, furniture etc) debt. We paid cash for our home so that isn't a factor.

Last year, we paid off around $46,000 of that debt. Yay!

Paying off that last half has slowed down a whole lot since Hubbs has been laid off. It sucks major ass. Luckily we put everything we could into savings because we knew that he was going to be laid off sooner or later.

So we have been watching our savings slowly dwindle down and only paying minimum payments. I am still working full time, Hubbs is still getting unemployment and doing side jobs for cash. I am doing surveys and trying to get into product trials to help out with the little "extras" like gifts and am saving my Swagbucks Amazon gift cards for Christmas.

Anyway..........I saw a great post on the We're Debt Free board asking what was our fantasy or dream after everything was paid off and saved up.

This is my "After Everything Is Paid Off Fantasy":
I want to buy a big chunk of land (like 20 acres) and build my dream house on it. With cash of course. I have put a lot of thought into this fantasy. It keeps me focused on the light at the end of our debt tunnel.

My BIL builds houses for rich people in Colorado. He is used to working with picky people and has already agreed to build me a house when the time is right. Yes, even after being family to my crazy ass for over 6 years, he is still willing to do it. I am just as surprised as you are.

Help me out with something

I am curious about something.....

See the Swagbucks widget thingy over there?
<--------------
Do a search in it.
Is it your account information that shows up or is it mine?

I don't get the new stuff Swagbucks is doing. But I guess I am just supposed to use it, not understand it.

Are you out of your mind?

When I opened my homepage this morning I saw this article: Got $2,500? Buy A House

Seriously? I can think of many better ways to use $2,500 than as a down payment. The whole article seems like a complete joke. I have been following Dave Ramsey's lifestyle change for around a year and a half and it has changed the way I look at my money. If we stay in this town and end up buying a house, we will pay cash for it.

I had to LoL at one of the lines from the article. "it's possible to buy a $150,000 starter home for about $1,000 a month, taxes and insurance included".


I see sooo many things wrong with that one line. Only $1,000 a month. $150,000 starter home. Ha! I am sure this is not the case everywhere but here, in the town I live in, $40,000 is closer to starter home prices. We only paid $20,000 for our 1st (and still current) home, but we went cheap and temporary, not awesome and forever.

Here, $150,000 would buy 5-6 bedrooms, 2-4 bathrooms, walk-in closets, 2 stories, a garage, a deck, and landscaping in one of the nice areas.

I love living in a small town.

How about "$1,000 a month, taxes and insurance included"? Ha at that one too. My house payments would have been $350 a month (had we not paid cash), tax for a year is around $150 and insurance on our home is $64 a year.

No wonder the economy is shitty! That is NOT an awesome deal to me. It isn't even a good deal.

Or is it?

Have low prices in my small town ruined me? I know that if we ever move to a place with a population over 10,000 I will be in complete culture shock. Are $150,000 2 bedroom shoe boxes actually normal?

Home Made Cleaning Products

I got this from the Coupon Girls. Thanks again!

http://www.livingwithcents.com/homeself/cleaning/homemade.html

Homemade cleaning stuff. Hooray for cheap!

Expirations

I got this link from the Coupon Girls. Thanks!

http://www.organizeyourlife.org/Expiration.htm


There are lots of tips there that will help you not keep your stuff too long and how to store it so that it stays good for the maximum amount of time.

Weekend BBQ part Three

Its funny how our friends segregate themselves. Like ALL the older people sit on the porch, ALL the men hang out around the BBQ grill, the women with little kids (under 12 years old) sit at the tables watching the babies and the rest of the women are in the kitchen cooking. The kids are scattered everywhere. It has been like this since I was a little kid. Even at family reunions, people would seperate into groups.

I sat with the group of women at the tables. We discussed everything from PPD to stomach bands to mood swings to not having patience with much of anything anymore.

The party started winding down since it was getting windy and cold. We ended up getting home around 9 or so. I had to skip the baths since Bobblehead was falling asleep standing up in the kitchen.

All in all, we had fun. I don't get to be social much anymore since the boys take up so much time and constant attention.

I can't wait until the Houseparty on the 20th. 2 social gatherings in a month? My mind won't know what to do!

Sunday BBQ-Part Two

So we finally make it to the BBQ. There are probably 20-25 people there. We knew who was there without even seeing anyone by their cars in the driveway.

I handled getting the kids and all of their crap out of the car. Hubbs was in charge of unloading the Adult Beverages (or as Mamalicious calls them, Beverlys) and getting those put in one of the 50 ice chests (cool seats on a hot day).

Uncle Lonnie's property is HUGE. His house sits in the middle of the lot, he has a pig pen (and other stuff) at the back of the lot, a rental house towards the front, an enormous deck out back and a few swings hanging in the trees. There was enough space for everyone to be comfortable, even with a small group of kids playing football off to one side.

Monk Man decided that he wanted to play football like the other kids. So off he ran. It wasn't long before someone came tattling to me that he was in the way and wanted to play.

Duh? Of course he wants to play. He is a boy, you all are boys, and there is a ball involved. I had to hold my tongue though. I can't be shitty to a 6 year old. That would just be rude, right? I went over and got Monk Man out of their way and put him on the tire swing. He was pissed and pouting but after a few spins in the swing, he was having fun again.

Hubbs wasn't watching Bobblehead and he ended up wandering through the football game. Here comes the tattler again. Good lord.

Long story short, I got tattled to well into the evening, even when I could reach over and touch my boys, even though I finally said "If there isn't blood, I don't want to hear about it". The other parents were just sitting there, not telling their kids not to tattle.

Finally we sat down to eat. We had pork ribs, poppers, salads, bread, tons of food. I got the boys a plate to share and one of the guys starts in on me.

It involves a lot of cussing, me being called a bitch for telling him that he had no right to tell me anything regarding my kids since his were taken away by CPS because him and his wife were neglecting them. I used to work with him and heard it straight from his mouth so it wasn't like it wasn't true. I will NOT justify what I do to someone who can't even raise their own kids. He got told to leave and things were fine after that.

With the adults at least.

Monk Man wanted to play with the other kids soooo bad but they wouldn't let him. They started running up to him to call him loser and then were pushing him down when he was trying to walk away and back to us. When I saw him raise his fist to defend himself, I rushed in and scooped him up.

It broke my heart that they were picking on my little guy. Granted, he does have a mouth on him, just like I do and I wasn't hovering over him the whole time so I don't know what he might have said to them. It still killed me to see it happen.

I hate to even imagine what goes on at daycare.

Check back tomorrow to read more about the BBQ!

Sunday BBQ-Part one

The famdamly went to a BBQ at Uncle Lonnie's house on Sunday afternoon.

I had other plans (gardening) but decided to go anyway.

Going anywhere with my kids is such a production anymore!

There are sippy cups to gather and lids to put on, there are lovies and blankies to load, there are spare undies, diapers and wipes to put in the back pack (once it has been found and emptied from the last outing), there are shoes to find, put on the wrong feet, taken off, lost, then put back on still on the wrong feet.

There are teeth to brush, noses to wipe, diapers to change, toilets to flush, pants to be buttoned, heads to be combed and shirts to be un-tucked from underwear.

There are dogs to be locked up, computers to be powered down, doors and windows to be shut, water hoses to be turned off, car keys to be found(in the ignition), cell phones to be un-plugged, a camera and batteries to be located only to find all the memory cards full.

There are 2 boys to be chased out of the yard, down the driveway, up the driveway, and then wrestled into the car, one boy in a booster seat, the other in a 25-point Nascar certified harness.

There is a car to be loaded, a husband to be coaxed into driving, a Safeway to be stopped at, beer and snacks to be bought, a gas station on the other side of town to be visited, and a gas tank to be filled.

All this for a 6-7 minute drive and an afternoon visit. Multiply that all times 10 for an all day visit, times 100 for an overnight stay, times 1,000 for a weekend, or times 10,000 for a holiday or visit to MIL's out of town.

Swagbucks search results

So I swagged "Safeway Deals June" to help me plan my trip to the grocery tomorrow. I won 2 bucks for the search! I like to read through the various blogs to give me an idea of what deals are working, what are not working and to see other bloggers grocery runs.

Here are some of the blogs/websites that have helped me out today:

Saving Cents with Sense
Blissfully Domestic
My Frugal Adventures
Coupon Cravings

Check out what they have to say!

Houseparty

OMG! I got in!

Happy dance. So excited.

I got accepted into the Domino's Pizza Houseparty. I have applied for every single one of these I have been offered and this is the first one I have been accepted into.

I will post more about it soon.

Another Interesting Article

Borrowed from the BBC Coupon girls. Thanks Shar!

Testosterone Levels Attributed to Sex of Baby

The most interesting part (to me at least) is: "we produce the sex of children we're most suited to bring up".

That gives me hope. My boys are driving me crazy right now. I am to the point that I just want to stay in bed and let Hubbs deal with it all.

It also makes a lot of sense. Growing up, I wasn't a "girly-girl". I would wear dresses ONLY when my mom would make me, like for church, holidays, school pictures or birthday parties.

But, I don't agree or even belive everything in the article though. Just like everything else on the internet (or anywhere really), you can't trust it 100%.

(Disclaimer-This sounds VERY selfish) When I went in for ultrasounds while I was pregnant, I prayed that the techs wouldn't tell me it was a girl. When I heard the magic words that they were boys I cried happy, relieved tears.

Girls are tough! I knew that there was no way in hell that I could handle raising a girl. I am thankful every single day that my boys are boys. Even on bad days.

Microwave Potato Chips

Thank you to thecakemaker from BBC for this recipe!
Ingredients:
3 red potatoes, sliced thinly
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Salt + seasoning of your choice

Directions:
Slice potatoes; brush on both sides w/ olive oil; sprinkle with seasonings. Layer 3 paper towels on a microwave-safe plate. Place the potatoes (do not overlap) on the plate. Microwave for 3 minutes. Turn over and microwave for 2-3 minutes longer, until dried and crispy. Repeat process for second batch. This works and tastes great.

BzzAgent Game Wave Campaign

Well, I finally got a working machine! Yay!

UPS dropped it off the other night and when I saw the box I was doubtful that this one would work. The box was dented, squashed and in worse condition that the first one.

I unboxed it and got it all set up, and it WORKED! Monk Man was so excited to see the opening screen show up on the TV. We popped some pop corn and started playing the games.

It was great to be able to use the remotes from the first box with the 2nd machine since the batteries had been put in all of them the week before while I was on the phone with the customer service man.

The games took a while to load but it was worth the wait because they were fun. We started with the trivia game. Some of those questions were HARD. Hubbs helped Monk Man with the answers because he is only 4 and the questions were way over his head. But he pushed the number and letter buttons himself.

After playing a couple of trivia rounds, we moved on to the other discs. Stevie's favorite game was the Wheel of Fortune type game where you pick the letters to form a phrase. My favorite was the Jewel type game where you switch the different jewels to make a row of 3+.

Overall, I am pretty impressed with the Game Wave. The games were engaging. It was easy to set up. The customer service was amazing. Plus it is a pretty good learning tool.

Home-made Baked Onion Rings

This recipe is from Tracy at the Coupon gals group. Thanks again!

Ingredients:
· 2 large sweet onions
· 7 ounces corn flakes cereal, crushed
· 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
· 2 teaspoons sugar
· 1 teaspoon paprika
· 1 cup egg substitute
· Vegetable cooking spray

Directions:
Cut each onion into 4 thick slices; separate into rings, reserving small rings for other uses. Set aside.

Combine cereal and next 3 ingredients; divide in half, and set aside. Beat egg substitute at high speed with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Dip half of onion rings in egg substitute; dredge in half of crumb mixture. Place in a single layer on baking sheets coated with cooking spray.

Repeat procedure with remaining onion rings and crumb mixture. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until crisp; serve warm.

Notes:
I've never beaten the eggbeaters with a mixer and it still turns out great.

I use more than two onions... if you are going to make them....... you might as well make a lot of them.

They reheat and freeze well too (just re-spray with Pam (or whatever spray you use) to re-heat. (I have a Foodsaver and make large batches, seal, and freeze for later.

These really are yummy and a lot better for you.

BzzAgent Bic Soeil Bella Razor Campaign

Here is my review of the Bic Soeil Bella Razors:

I have tried 1 of the 3 razors so far.

The 4 blades seem to make a difference. The extra blade catches more hairs and it cut my shaving time down enough to notice. Normally it takes me a good half an hour to shave my legs and with the Soeil Bella it took maybe 20 minutes.

With the regular 3 blade razors I have to shave every 3-4 days but after using the Soeil Bella, I am going on 6 days and the stubble is just barely starting to grow in.

Plus the colors are so pretty!

The only thing I am disappointed in is the price. I looked at them while I was shopping this weekend at Safeway and noticed the price of a SINGLE razor was $13.xx.

BzzAgent Neutrogena Sunblock

Anybody want a review?

I love it!

Monk Man tans very easily but Bobblehead has skin like mine, very easy to burn.

I used it on all 3 of us before we went out to work in the garden for a few hours. It worked great.

The kids went inside after about an hour and didn't get burned at all. I reapplied it and spent another 2 hours outside.

I ended up with tiger stripes on my back and shoulders from where I missed areas with the sunblock. But where I didn't miss with the sunblock was great, no sunburn.

It even worked great on my face, which is super sensitive to just about everything. Other sunblocks are so greasy that I end up getting huge pimples the day after using but the Neutrogena left my skin blemish free.

I will definitely be buying more of this when my current bottle is used up.