I love trying out different kinds of body wash (especially when they're FREE)! Go here and fill out your information to receive a FREE sample of Caress body wash. You can choose from Whipped Souffle White Peach Cream, Whipped Souffle Blackberry Cream, and Velvet Bliss body wash. I chose the white peach. Sounds almost good enough to eat! :)
There's a new U by Kotex FREE sample! Go here and click on the "Try a Free Sample" link then fill in your information to get a sample mailed to you. It looks like you can choose from three different types. You might want to disable your pop up blocker first because when I did it my pop up blocker blocked the window to fill out the form.
Go here to sign up on Facebook for a FREE sample of Aveeno Nourish+ Shampoo and Conditioner. You have to "Like" their page then fill out a short form and choose the variety of shampoo & conditioner you want (I chose Volume). This brand is really expensive in the store (I had a $2 off coupon for it once that I never used because it was priced at about $7.49 for one bottle!), so I'm excited to get to try it for FREE!
I'm so excited that my parents and sister are visiting for a whole week! They arrived last night, and we had a super fun-filled Saturday (and found lots of yard sale bargains to boot!). I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time with them and celebrating both my dad's birthday and my own birthday (yikes, I can't believe I'll be 29!). One of my favorite finds of the day was a pair of American Eagle flat boater-type shoes (that exactly matched the shirt I happened to be wearing) for $1. Boy, am I glad it's yard sale season again!
I must admit to an addiction to Oreos. Not the most healthy snack, but very, very yummy. :) There is a coupon for $1 off Oreo Fudge Cremes here. You have to have a Facebook account in order to access the coupon, but I think most the world now has a Facebook account, so that shouldn't be a problem. :) I might even spend a little of my birthday money to get a package of the mint-flavored ones (which I will eat all by myself during naptime, thank you).
Last night I was convicted about my internet usage. It's not like I'm on it constantly, but I'm spending enough time that other things are suffering a little. So, enter the One Hour Daily Internet Challenge. I am now only "allowed" to be on the internet one hour per day. Period. If I use up too much time in the morning, tough beans. I have a stopwatch that is running right now to make sure I don't go over my limit. It's amazing how fast I can navigate the internet when I have a goal in mind. I hope I won't drop the ball on this one. Imagine having an extra hour (or so) a day to do housework, play with cute little daughters, etc. I'm kinda excited about this but also having just a teeny bit of withdrawal pangs. Now I'd better go do something else before that stopwatch is too far gone.
So I found this easy-sounding recipe in an email from Taste of Home today, and (since I was having a mental block about what to make for supper) I thought I'd give it a try tonight. It tasted almost identical to the meatloaf I make in the oven, and it was waaaay easier and quicker. Here's the recipe:
Don't you just love shopping at thrift stores? I sure do. The best one in Sheridan (in my opinion) is the one run by the Catholic church because almost everything is priced at $0.50 or less. I have purchased so many very cheap items there that I use all the time! My second favorite is Salvation Army. Their prices are higher, but all their infant/toddler clothes are $0.50, and the bigger kids' clothes are $0.75, so it's not too bad. They are also open Mon-Fri unlike the Catholic one (it's open Mon, Tues, & Sat). I stopped by Salvation Army today after grocery shopping and found some great bargains. I took a pic because I love to share (AKA brag) about the deals I find. :) For all the items pictured, I spent $5.16. Plus, I have a Salvation Army Frequent Buyer Card which gets a stamp every time I spend at least $5 there. After 10 stamps, I'll get 25% off my next purchase. Not bad for stuff I would buy anyway. And the closer to $5 I spend the better because I would still only get 1 stamp if I bought $10 or $15 worth of items. That got me to thinking: I wonder if they'd let me do multiple transactions...
Here's another FREE sample! This is a 10-day supply of Clear Skin Acne Wash from Moore Unique. I don't know about you, but sometimes I really think I'm about 10 years younger again with the way my skin breaks out, so I'm excited to try this wash. This what their website says about this product:
There's a new code to get $10 off a minimum $10 purchase at JC Penney's website! The last time they offered a code like this I scored some cute little brown shoes for Molly for $0.99 plus shipping (site to store was $4.50). Keep in mind that you do have to have a minimum of $10 ($9.99 doesn't work). Go here to start shopping and at checkout use code 4BESTMOM. You can also go through Ebates to get 6% back on your purchase! Plus, if you're a new member (I haven't signed up yet, but I probably will if I find something to use this Penney's code on), you'll get a $5 sign-up bonus (which would cover the cost of site-to-store shipping)! Sounds like some free stuff coming up!
I used to never, ever shop at Walgreens. Their prices were always too high, and, frankly, the service wasn't anything to write home about. Now, however, I love Walgreens (AKA Wags). I read all about Wags shopping in this post from Collin at Hip2Save, and it all started to make sense. Since Wags offers register rewards (coupons that print after you pay on certain items to use like cash on any subsequent purchase), you can really do well matching coupons with register rewards deals. Before I go to Wags, I look at their ad and also at the matchups on Hip2Save to see what's on sale and what coupons I can use. Since I don't buy newspapers I don't usually have a lot of the coupons she mentions, but I can do printables which make many products free or even moneymakers! This picture is from my best shopping trip at Wags. Grand total spent after factoring in register rewards & coupons was $0.32. It's hard to beat a deal like that!
Who doesn't love a free trash bag? Just go here and fill out your information to get a free sample of Green Genius trash bags. 
I just started with Swagbucks earlier this year, and I really like it. If you don't know what it is, Swagbucks is a website that awards "Swagbucks" (oddly enough) to its users when they search using the Swagbucks search engine or if they complete certain offers on their website. Several times a week there is a swagcode which can be found somewhere on the Internet (usually on the Swagbucks website) which is worth more Swagbucks. There is a widget that can be put on Facebook to alert you when there is a code to be found and gives a hint where to find it. I downloaded the toolbar which makes searching so much easier. Even Nate uses the toolbar to search when he's online, and he's won Swagbucks for me several times! So far I have earned enough Swagbucks for $20 in Amazon.com giftcards. It is completely free, and I haven't seen an increase in junk email or had viruses or anything like that. I'm a pretty casual "Swaggernaut," and it still has paid off plenty for me. If you haven't already signed up and would like to, you can use this link: http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/elsiezee (this will let me refer you which means when you win Swagbucks by searching, I get a matching amount up to 1,000). It's so fun to get stuff for FREE, and now I just have to decide what to order from Amazon. Hmmm, practical or frivolous? I think frivolous is going to win this round.
I am excited to be entering into the world of blogging! I love to read blogs, and so I decided to write one myself. The purpose of this blog is to keep family and friends updated on the happenings in the Anderson family and also to highlight great deals I've found and other ways to save money. I'm looking forward to $aving in $heridan!
