Month: March 2021

Protect your pet’s health your way with Petco Vital Care

Abby H.

Fiona loves cuddles and being healthy

Your pets need love and care from their family, that’s a no-brainer. Just as you take care of your people family with preventative health care, your pets need it too. Confidently Keep up with their health & wellness needs with an annual plan that gives you easy access to trusted care on routine vet exams, unlimited nail trims, teeth brushing, and more for $19 a month on routine services with Petco Vital Care. 

Petco Vital Care knows you’ll do whatever it takes to get your pet the best care. That’s why they’re doing our part to make caring for them as affordable as possible. The Petco Vital Care includes:

  • Unlimited nail trims
  • Teeth brushing
  • $10 Pals Rewards each month
  • $70 Pals Rewards per year for vet exam at the vet of your choice
  • A Welcome gift of your choice
  • That is $226 in savings on routine wellness services throughout the year.

All for just $19 a month! To learn more or sign up, click here.

 

Fetch Rewards: 4,000 Points Per Referral through 3/23/2021

Abby H.

There are thousands of referral bonus points just waiting to be claimed. If you want some, simply tell all your friends about Fetch. Through 3/23, you’ll get 4,000 points for anyone who signs up using your code.

There’s no limit to the Rewards you can earn, so tell everyone. It’s super easy, and each friend who signs up gets 2,000 points.

Referring friends is easy. Step one: share your referral code with friends. Step two: friends enter your code and snap a receipt. Step three: points are deposited into your account.

Let’s get started! If you are new to Fetch Rewards, you can learn more here. When you sign up, use my referral code ND2TB and share the love (and referral points!).

When you sign up, leave your referral code in the comments!

Save an Extra 30% off at JCPenney through 3/21/2021

Abby H.

I am a life long JCP shopper. I love their sales, deals, and they have great clothes and housewares.

Through 3/21, JCP is offering a 30% coupon that can be used in store or online (you can find it, and other coupons here).

I used the coupon a few days ago to pick up a hoodie for the big kid and a Wonder Woman dress for little miss. Both were on sale and I got the extra 30% off!

For those who love the ease of online shopping: You’ll score free shipping when you spend $75+ or have your items shipped to your closest JCP store for free.

Don’t forget to sign up for JCP Rewards if you already haven’t. It’s a great way to earn $10/$10+ coupons, plus additional rewards like secret sales and birthday coupons (usually a $10/$10+ coupon).

Mid-Month Coupon Round Up March 2021!

Abby H.

I was cruising my favorite coupon sites this morning and I found some great stuff.

The two sites I use the most for printable coupons are:

Here are a few coupons that have me kinda stoked:

Save $0.75 On ONE (1) Juicy Juice® product (excludes 4-pack juice boxes)
Save $0.75 When you buy THREE (3) Avocados From Mexico
Save $1.50 FOUR (4) Lean Cuisine Frozen Items (redeemable at Walmart)
Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) LISTERINE® Mouthwash product (from 500 ml to 1L) or any (1) LISTERINE® READY! TABS® product (8 ct. or larger)
Save $2.00 on ANY ONE (1) Garnier® Whole Blends® Sulfate Free Remedy or Miracle Treatment product
Save $2.00 on ANY ONE (1) Garnier® Fructis® Treat Shampoo or Conditioner (11.8oz only), 3-in-1 Hair Mask or Invisible Dry Shampoo product
Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) package of Green Giant® New Frozen Product, Any Variety
Save $1.00 on any ONE (1) package of Green Giant Veggie Spirals™

Another thing that is super exciting as of late is the Sprouts App. You can sign up here for their email list and they will send you a link to their app. They have all sorts of great in-app deals and coupons (last week it was a $5 off coupon).

And if you are looking for more ways to save, check out my Smart Phone App Page. It’s got all kinds of great apps to help you save and earn cash back on all of your grocery and home essential shopping!

4/2/2021: Special Guest Speaker World Autism Awareness Day

Abby H.

NFAR (The National Federation for Autism Research) is hosting a Zoom lunch and learn on April 2, 2021, which is World Autism Awareness and Acceptance Day.

If you have followed my blog for a while, you know that my oldest (now 10) was diagnosed with ASD at age 5. Learning more about how the mind of someone on the spectrum is a lifelong learning experience. I always look forward to events like this. It is interesting to learn the science and research behind ASD.

The speaker is the leading scientific researcher, Dr. Eric Courchesne.

Friday April 2nd 12:00 noon – 1:00 pm PST
TOPIC: The When, What, and How of ASD Development with Q&A

GUEST SPEAKER: Dr. Eric Courchesne, Professor of Neurosciences in the School of Medicine at the University of California San Diego and Co-Director of the UCSD Autism Center of Excellence.

Dr. Eric Courchesne introduced the new concept of ASD Living Biology, a new approach for discovering prenatal brain developmental origins and explanations of ASD in the individual child. His work shows ASD begins in the 1st and 2nd trimesters and his studies have identified genomic, molecular, cellular, and neural differences that lead to early language and social symptoms in autism and predict clinical outcome. His work is internationally recognized.

Dr. Courchesne’s studies integrate behavioral, brain imaging, developmental, cellular, genetic and genomic findings that lead to a better understanding of the prenatal origins of autism. His team has also identified early diagnostic and outcome biomarkers. From this work his team aims to identify treatments specific to biological subtypes. Dr. Courchesne has published over 200 articles in major journals such as JAMA, TINS, Neuron, Molecular Psychiatry, Nature Neuroscience, and the New England Journal of Medicine.

To sign up for this free online event, click here.

 

I am not affiliated with Dr. Courchesne or NFAR. I am simply sharing this information.

Family Recipe: Fruit Salad

Abby H.1 Comment

The other day I was chatting online with a group of friends and I mentioned making fruit salad. One of my younger friends asked, “Can you send me the recipe for that?”

I’ve never really thought about writing a recipe for fruit salad, since I’ve been making it since I was a kid. It was always a staple at family dinners with my maternal grandparents. My Grandma was known to make a literal punchbowl of fruit salad for parties.

This recipe does not make a punchbowl full.  The nice thing about fruit salad is that you can put any kind of fruit into it, and if you don’t eat it all in one meal, it keeps in the fridge for a few days.

I change it up based on what comes in our CSA box each week, and based on which fruits are in season.

Grammie’s Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 Apples (any kind but red delicious, those are awful)
  • 2 oranges
  • 2 bananas (not overly ripe or they fall to mush)
  • 3 cups berries, your choice (I recommend 2/1 ratio, sliced strawberries and blueberries)
  • 1 ripe pineapple, cored and skinned. You can also use a can of pineapple tidbits in juice (juice drained off and fed to a kid) if fresh pineapple isn’t available.

Optional, but tasty when in season:

  • 1 cup fresh peaches, skin removed
  • 2 kiwis sliced, skin removed
  • 1 mango, peeled and removed from the pit/core

Note: I don’t like melon in my fruit salad. If you do, add 1-2 cups of your favorite melon (Cantaloupe or Honey Dew hold up well in a fruit salad).

Directions:

  1. Clean, Chop/slice all of your fruit (not needed for blueberries). I try to make each kind of fruit bite-sized, but a different shape. That way it makes for a nice presentation.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the fruit. If you omit the oranges, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and toss the fruit to coat. This keeps the apples from browning.
  3. Serve fruit salad cold as a side dish for any meal. If you like it spicy, serve it with Tajin on the side.
  4. Store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days in a covered container.

Talk Back: What are your favorite fruits to include in Fruit Salad? 

Dollar Tree Deals for Easter!

Abby H.

**Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you click on links or make purchases.

Hippity Hoppity, Easter’s on it’s wayyyyyy!!! Ok, so now that I’m done singing, it’s time for me to tell you all about some of the sweet stuff that’s going on down at Dollar Tree.

I live next door to a shopping center/strip mall that has a Dollar Tree, so I’ve seen all these goodies in the flesh.

First off: Crafts! Dollar Tree has some super cool craft kits for Easter. Perfect for Easter baskets, or if you are looking for something to keep your kids occupied during Spring Break. Not all of them are egg/bunny related. Lots of fun spring crafts, including their collection of fun wooden paintable items, canvases, and stickers. Our craft cupboard is full of paintables, canvases, stickers, and misc. craft kits from Dollar Tree. I spend about $20/month there just for craft supplies. The paintables and canvases make great gifts for family (grandparents especially).

Next up, dishes. If you are hosting an Easter/Spring/Equinox dinner, Dollar Tree has you hooked up with great table settings (both durable and disposable), table decor, and even leftover containers for your guests to take home leftovers- I can’t be the only one who does that?

Ok, and Finally: Spring Cleaning. UGH. But it’s gotta be done. Dollar Tree to the rescue with buckets and household cleaners (I’m a big fan of Formula 409 myself, Goo Gone, and the drop-in tank toilet bowl cleaners). For those of you who are on the more natural path, Dollar Tree has you covered! Vinegar, scrub brushes, baking soda and more natural choices too. If part of your Spring Cleaning includes reorganizing, Dollar Tree has lots of storage solutions too!

Q-insights Smokers Study -Pays $75

Abby H.
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Q-insights is another company that I do research groups, focus groups, and online surveys to earn extra money.

They have a lot of stuff in South Orange County, and less often San Diego County. These days they are doing most of their studies online via chat or online surveys.

Right now Q-Insights is currently recruiting for an online study on the topic of smoking

The study will run from March 23rd to March 24th and you will be compensated $75 via check in the mail as a thank you for your time.

If you are interested in participating please fill out the survey here. If you pre-qualify they will call you to ask some additional qualifying questions.

Roasting Veggies: Simple and Tasty!

Abby H.1 Comment

Over the past six months, I’ve been trying to get us to eat more veggies. But honestly, you can only eat so much mixed green salads and steamed broccoli. My prior attempts at oven roasted veggies were basically a hot pile of steamed veggies that lacked any of the qualities of oven roasted veggies I knew- none of them were sweet, with crispy edges, tender but not soggy. Thankfully with our CSA box coming straight to our door weekly, were getting tons of tasty new veg to try!

I did some reading in a few cookbooks, websites, and asked some of my friends who are chefs/professional cooks. The secret to perfect oven roasted veg? Space. Room. The veggies need space for the heat of the oven to circulate and heat them evenly.

Second tip: place the pans in the oven and allow them to pre-heat. Once the oven has pre-heated, pull your pan(s) out and place your veggies on the pans, then back in the oven.

Third tip: Half way through roasting, turn over/flip your veggies to ensure they are getting equal roasting time in that hot pan. I say pan, but I use a baking sheet lined in foil, like this one.

It’s all about high temp and short cooking time- 450 degrees! Your veggies will be done in less than 45 minutes and you’ll be feasting away! And anyone can make roasted veggies- as long as you have the following:

  • Cooking pans (like these)
  • Aluminum Foil (I like it because it makes clean up easy)
  • 1-2 lbs of your favorite vegetables, chopped up into evenly sized pieces (the secret to having them come out perfect)
  • 3 Tablespoons oil (I like canola, avocado, or grapeseed)
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon (or more, depending on how seasoned you like your veg) fresh cracked pepper

With the CSA boxes we’ve been receiving weekly, making roasted veggies is a snap. Here are cooking times for a few in season veggies. These times presuppose that you have cleaned/peeled as needed, and cut them into 1-inch pieces as needed. Cooking time is for 1 lb.

  • Beets: 20-25 minutes
  • Carrots: 20-25 minutes
  • Brussels Sprouts (Cut off the bottom, and cut in half): 15-20 minutes
  • Onions (I usually quarter and slice them): 15-20 minutes
  • Garlic (peel each clove- if they are large, cut in half) 15-20 minutes
  • Green Beans: 15-20 minutes
  • Potatoes/sweet potatoes: 20-30 minutes
  • Zucchini/summer squash: 15-20 minutes
  • Bell Peppers: 15-20 minutes
  • Asparagus: 10-15 minutes
Brussels Sprouts and Purple Onions

If you’ve got something that isn’t on this list that you want to roast, I suggest starting with 10 minutes at 450 degrees, then flip the veggies over and see how they are doing. If they are brown and caramelized on one side, give it another 10 minutes for the other side to cook, then test for doneness with a fork. If they need longer, give them another 5 minutes and test again.

Santee School District Spring Break Meal Distribution

Abby H.

Like many other school districts, Santee School district will be handing out free lunches and breakfasts over the spring break.

On March 22, 2021 and March 29, 2021 at the district kitchen (9880 Riverwalk Drive, Santee, CA 92071) from 11:30-12:30, food for each week will be distributed. Please remember to mask up! The menu is listed below.

If you live outside Santee and know about other school districts distributing lunches/meals, please leave information or a link in the comments! Sharing is caring!