Author: Abby H.

Pinecone Research is looking for you!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2016-02-16 at 11.58.22 AMSQUEEE!!! I am super Super excited to share this with you! If you’ve read the blog for a while, you know I love doing surveys at home to earn extra spending cash. My #1 go to survey company is Pinecone Research.

PineCone Research conducts on-line interviews with consumers from all walks of life to obtain their opinions about new products. To become a panel member, all you need to do is complete the simple form here, This will only take a few minutes of your time.

It’s easy and fun to see and evaluate new product ideas in the comfort of your own home. You will earn points for each completed product survey, which can be exchanged for cash and other rewards. PLUS you will be automatically entered into a bi-weekly Sweepstakes to win additional cash prizes for your time. Each interview usually takes 15-20 minutes of your time. Plus, you are free to leave the panel at any time should you choose to do so.

Pinecone has no crazy high minimum pay out (like some other survey companies)- You only need 300 points to cash out for 1 $3.00 Paypal reward. 300 points is just 1 survey!

Nitty Gritty: Registrants who complete the signup form online and align with the recruit target(s) and are eligible for membership consideration will immediately receive an email invitation containing a link, ID and password to complete the full registration process. The link takes them to a brief “staging” survey (6 minutes or less) to gather some further information about that registrant and their household, and to gain agreement to the terms and conditions for panel membership.

Right now they are primarily looking for Males, or anyone aged 18-24, or Hispanic ethnicity. And here is proof that I make money with Pinecone, here is a screenshot showing that I cashed out points:

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300 points is $3.00, 900 points is $9.00 and 1500 is $15.00. So in the past 3 months, I’ve made $36 in less than a half hour, all told!

Changes coming to SNAP by Groupon!

Abby H.

UGH. Seriously. So many awesome rebate companies have come and gone. And now, RIP to SNAP by Groupon…. Check this out (I posted this on FB this morning too):

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Important Changes Coming To Snap
Valued Snap Customer,

Great news! Starting on March 1, 2016, Snap will be expanding to include Groupon’s inventory of nearly 70,000 digital offers at top retailers in the United States and Canada. With this update, Snap will be transitioning from product-specific to retailer-specific promotions.

Since these new promotions allow for easy redemption and instant savings, we will be sunsetting Snap’s cash back feature.

What does this mean for my existing Snap balance?

If you have a balance of $20 or more, you can still request your check. If your balance is less than $20 on March 1, per the terms of the Cash-Back Program, you’re not entitled to request a check, but we will be giving you promotional Groupon Bucks in an amount equivalent to your Snap balance rounded up to the nearest $5. Those Groupon Bucks will expire on September 1, 2016, so spend them soon.

For more information about how the transition affects your Snap balance and for the terms that apply to Groupon Bucks, please click here. During this process, we will also be converting your Snap account into a new Groupon account. You can opt out of this conversion by clicking here by February 29.

Thank you for being such a valued customer, and we look forward to bringing you even more ways to save extra money online and in store at places where you shop every day. Please feel free to reach out to SnapSupport@groupon.com with any questions.Thanks,

Snap by Groupon

So, there you have it. If you have a least $20 in credit, cash it our ASAP. Otherwise be prepared for a Groupon Bucks reward.

I do like that they are rounding it up to the nearest $5- That’s cool.

But other than that, to quote my four and half year old boy, “LAME!”

 

Another one bites the dust 😦

 

Looking for some new digs? Check out the Grand Opening of Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona!

Abby H.

NickelCreek-logoColorSome of you may know that we moved into a condo last January. We house hunted for over 6 months, looking at listings online and driving all over the place. It was nuts. The awesome folks at KirE builders are proud to present the Grand Opening of Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona on February 27th. Just in time for those of you starting your house hunt in Eastern San Diego County.

There are so many things I love about living in East County:

  • Great Parks: including parks with cheap or free water fixtures for the kids to play in during the hot months.
  • Small Town Feel: most Eastern San Diego County cities and towns average about 60k residents or less each, but most have a great small town vibe with local activities sponsored by chambers of commerce, civic organizations, and local parks and rec commissions.
  • Many opportunities to Get Into Nature: We love discovering nature!  San Diego has a ton of great trails and ecological preserves, several of them are in Eastern San Diego County, and are family friendly!

Even though we’re not in the market for a new home, I’ll be checking out the Grand Opening of Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona. We’ve got some friends that are looking to buy in East County and I’ll be doing leg work for them!

I’m pretty excited! Besides the tours of the new townhomes, there will be lunch, a gourmet dessert truck, face painting, and music will be complimentary for all in attendance starting at 11am!

Bring your kids and they can flex their creative muscle and enter to win! Check out the coloring sheet below that kids can color and turn in that day at Nickel Creek, to win 2 tickets to Disneyland, a Kindle Fire, or a $50 gift card!

coloring sheet FINAL FINAL

 

If you can’t make it, but would like more info, check out the  Nickel Creek Interest List.

NickelCreek-Flyer_Back What I like about Nickel Creek is that even though it’s in Ramona, which is know for being pretty east in East County, it’s near the center of town: Tons of opportunities to shop and dine. Oh, and Ramona has a Dunkin’ Donuts. SHHHH- don’t tell my husband!

NickelCreek-Flyer_Front

 

I’ll be live tweeting and Instagramming from the event, make sure to check it out! And I’ll report back with photos and details!

 

 

Take 5% off Schoola and get $5 Starbucks GC!!

Abby H.

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By this time, you know my love of Schoola! Great gently worn clothes for kids (and women) at a decent price, and they give 40% of each item’s purchase price to local schools!

Right now, they’ve got a great deal! Because you’ve helped us raise money for so many schools, Schoola is treating you to 5% off and $5 to Starbucks! Use the code below now until 2/14 and we’ll email you a Starbucks gift card.

Spend $20, take 5% off  + Free Shipping and Get $5 to Starbucks
Use Code LATTELOVE

Please note, codes are not valid on new-with-tags items. Limited one code per order. Offer for a limited time. Must spend $20 with the code to qualify for the Starbucks gift certificate.

And if you are new to Schoola, when you sign up here, you’ll get $20 in credit to spend (which you can use with the coupon code to save even more!!)

Protein Shake Recipes!

Abby H.12 Comments

DSC_0824For some of us, our New Year’s Resolution to lose weight has already started to peter off. NOT ME! I’ve got 40-ish lbs to drop to get back down to my pre-bitty Bird weight. I’m using protein shakes to help me.

A few years ago hubs and I did Sharp Weight Management to lose weight and to this day, we still use the protein shakes that are part of their program. HMR shakes are tasty and have a good amount of protein and other nutrients. All of the recipes below use HMR shakes, but you can use whatever kind of protein powder you like best (everyone has their favorite!).

I usually start my day with a coffee based shake!

Hazelnut Mocha: Mix Chocolate protein powder with  tablespoon sugar free chocolate pudding powder, 1 tablespoon Cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons Sugar Free Torani Hazelnut syrup, and 12-20 ounces of strong, hot coffee, When blending hot drinks in the blender make sure to vent the lid or it might pop off! To do this cold, use cold coffee and add 8-10 ice cubes.

Cinnamon Dulce Latte: The same drink at Starbucks (made with Fat Free milk and without whipped cream) has 210 Calories. With my version, you save 40 calories, and score at least 10 more grams of protein- this will vary for you, depending on how many grams of protein your protein shake has. Mix vanilla protein powder with 12-20 ounces of hot coffee (I like a larger drink, so I add more coffee), 2 tablespoons of Torani Syrup Brown Sugar Cinnamon (sugar free), a dash of cinnamon.  When blending hot drinks in the blender make sure to vent the lid or it might pop off! To do this cold, use cold coffee and add 8-10 ice cubes.

Frappacino: If you have leftover coffee after making your morning pot, don’t throw it away, put it in the fridge and make yourself a blended frozen protein shake. They will taste just like a frappacino, but with a lot less calories.  The average ice blended drink from a coffee shop has 300 calories!

The basic Frap recipe is as follows:

  • Protein Powder (the amount indicated on your package for 1 serving)
  • 12-20 oz cold coffee
  • 8-10 ice cubes (add more if you want it more icy)

Add in any of the following:

  • 2 tablespoons of your favorite sugar free syrup
  • 1 tablespoon Cocoa Powder, Ovaltine, Sugar Free Pudding powder (your choice of flavors)
  • Use  Walden Farms Calorie Free Chocolate Syrup (or one of their other ice cream syrups- they make caramel and strawberry too) as a drizzle inside the cup and on top to make your drink with more of a Coffee House Flair without adding any calories!

Here are a few more of our favorite shakes. When we did the Weight management program through Sharp, we drank 6-8 a day, so creativity was the key to keep us from becoming bored and deviating from the program. (AKA cheating) These days, I use these shakes as a swap for a higher calorie dessert most of the time. That way my sweet tooth is happy, and I’m consuming WAAAY less calories!

As a note, I usually use a lot more ice to make it more “ice cream-y” and less like a chocolate milk.

Cherry Cheesecake shake: 1 pouch vanilla HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free cheesecake flavored powdered pudding, 3 pumps (roughly 3 tablespoons) sugar free black cherry Torani Syrup. You can substitute Strawberry syrup in place of the black cherry.

50/50 Bar Shake: 1 pouch vanilla HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free vanilla flavored powdered pudding, 3 pumps (roughly 3 tablespoons) sugar free orange Torani Syrup.

Eggnog shake:  1 pouch vanilla HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free cheesecake flavored powdered pudding, 1tsp. rum extract, sprinkle/dash of grated nutmeg. (Mr. C had this on X-mas eve and it was FABU!)

Lemon/Raspberry Shake: 1 pouch vanilla HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free lemon flavored powdered pudding, 3 pumps (roughly 3 tablespoons) sugar free Raspberry Torani Syrup.

Peanut Butter Cup Shake: 1 pouch chocolate HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free chocolate flavored powdered pudding, 2 tablespoons of PB2 powder.

Almond Joy Shake: 1 pouch chocolate HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free chocolate flavored powdered pudding,2 pumps (roughly 2 tablespoons) sugar free Almond Torani Syrup, and 2 pumps (roughly 2 tablespoons) sugar free coconut Torani Syrup . You can use 1 tsp. Almond extract if you prefer in lieu of the almond syrup.

Mounds Shake: 1 pouch chocolate HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free chocolate flavored powdered pudding,3 pumps (roughly 3 tablespoons)  sugar free coconut Torani Syrup .

Milky Way Shake: 1 pouch chocolate HMR shake, 6 oz cold water, 6-8 ice cubes, 1 tsp. sugar free butterscotch flavored powdered pudding.  To make a snickers shake, add 1-2 Tablespoons of PB2.

Butterfinger: Mix chocolate protein powder with 1 tablespoon PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter, 1 tablespoon sugar free butterscotch pudding powder, 1 tablespoon Cocoa powder, 8-10 ounces of cold water and 8-10 ice cubes. Blend on high until the ice cubes are incorporated.

Mud Pie: Mix chocolate protein powder with 1 tablespoon sugar free chocolate pudding powder, 1 tablespoon Cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon Ovaltine, 8-10 ounces of cold strong coffee and 8-10 ice cubes. Blend on high until the ice cubes are incorporated.

Chocolate Malt:  MIx chocolate protein powder with 1 tablespoon sugar free chocolate pudding powder,  1 tablespoon Ovaltine (choose the malted variety- it’s in the yellow package), 8-10 ounces of cold water and 8-10 ice cubes. Blend on high until the ice cubes are incorporated.

PB&J: Mix vanilla protein powder with 2 tablespoons PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter, 2 pumps of your favorite fruit flavored Torani Syrup (strawberry, grape, raspberry are just a few), and 8-10 ounces of cold water and 8-10 ice cubes. Blend on high until the ice cubes are incorporated. Tastes just like a PB&J!

Later in the week, I’ll be posting my home made protein bar recipe and an oatmeal protein muffin recipe- perfect for keeping you on track!

DIY Fairy Jar (No Glow Sticks needed!)

Abby H.1 Comment

Screen Shot 2016-02-01 at 12.51.22 PMEveryone has seen the Fairy jars on Pinterest that glow in the dark. In fact, you may seen them on Pinterest fail lists too, because, well, the directions don’t work.

Not familiar? Ok, it goes like this: Take a Mason Jar (because after all 90% of crafts/stuff on pinterest involve a Mason Jar), open 2-3 glow sticks, dump them into the mason jar, screw the lid on and shake. OOOH, it’s supposed to look like a magical Fairy Jar. What it really looks like it a fairy vomited into a jar. And glow sticks glowiness only lasts one night (or so).

So here is the deal on how to make a legit, serious, awesomely cool fairy jar in less than 10 minutes, no glow sticks or scissors needed.

You need two things:

A jar with a screw on lid. I used an Anchor Hocking jar that my mom gave me (she got it here). You could also use a wide mouth quart Mason Jar.

A string of these cool LED battery operated lights on a copper wire. You get two for $7.99, so really, you could make two if you had another jar.

Here are the totally simple directions:

  1. Wash and dry the jar.
  2. Loosely coil the string of lights around your hand, put hand into jar. let go of the lights.
  3. Leave the end of the string with the switch dangle over the lip of the jar.
  4. Screw on lid (the wire is so thin, you’ll be able to screw on the lid with the wire coming up over the top of the jar).
  5. Turn lights on.

That’s it. REALLY! The batteries last a while, especially if you aren’t leaving the lights on 24/7. If you wanted to get a little fancier, you could spray paint the inside of the jar, allow it to dry, then continue with steps 2-5. I am doing that with my second string of lights. Watch my Instagram feed for photos of that when it’s done later today.

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I can’t wait to share this with Henry when he gets home from school.

 

Thanks to Tomoson and #OakleafLEDLight for the opportunity to try these cool little lights for free. I was not financially compensated for this review, however I only review items that I think area good fit for my family. All opinions are my own!

It’s BACK! Free FroYo Day!

Abby H.

Is it wrong that I look forward to this every year?

Screen Shot 2016-01-25 at 10.37.39 AMFebruary 1st is National Frozen Yogurt Day and that means free Fro Yo at Menchie’s!

It’s from 4-7pm on Monday, February 1st!

Fine Print: The first 6 ounces are free on February 1, 2016 from 4pm – 7pm. Additional ounces are at cost to the consumer. Limit one cup per guest while supplies last. Flavors are available at participating locations, while supplies last.

This is going to be a great after school treat for our family! As more Free Fro Yo offers are announced for other fro yo companies, I’ll post!

DIY Frozen Pizzas!

Abby H.8 Comments

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A cheese pizza baking away (and a calzone)!

We love Pizza. Probably too much. About 6 months ago, hubs bought How to Cook Everything: 2,000 Simple Recipes for Great Food,10th Anniversary Edition by Mark Bittman. It’s amazing. We’ve cooked a lot of stuff out of it, but the best is probably the pizza crust recipe.

It’s easy -only three ingredients, but I usually add a few extra!  You can make a few batches, put a ball of dough in the freezer, and save it for when you want pizza, but are feeling lazy. OR- You can make a couple frozen pizzas (which I do once a month), and when you are feeling really lazy, you’ll have no need to call Noid or Cesar (wow, both of those totally date me, right?)

DIY Frozen Pizza

Makes 1 pizza

Crust (recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s):

  • 3 c flour, plus extra for kneading
  • 2 t. yeast
  • 1 c. very warm water (90-100 degrees)
  • 2 T parmesan cheese (it’s ok to use the Kraft in a green canister stuff)-OMIT IF YOU ARE VEGAN!
  • 1 T Olive Oil
  • dash salt
  • dash pepper

 

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  2. Mix all of the ingredients together until a soft sticky dough ball forms.
  3. Turn out onto a floured board or counter top and knead briefly.
  4. smooth a round ball of dough into a clean bowl. Cover bowl with a cool, damp cloth and allow to rise someplace undisturbed for 1 hour.
  5. After an hour, punch the dough, and turn out onto a floured board or counter top and knead for 2-3 minutes. At this time, you can roll the dough out and move onto the next step, or you can do a secondary rise (makes the crust extra crispy and chewy). If you elect to do a second rise, repeat step 3 and 4.
  6. After dough is rolled out to your preferred size and shape, lift into well greased cookie sheet or pizza pan. pierce the crust with a fork several times. This keeps the crust from getting weird bumps and lumps during the par-baking.
  7. Par-bake crust for 3-5 minutes. Allow crust to cool completely.

Now that you have cooled par-baked crust, it’s time to get topping! Transfer the pizza to a large piece of aluminum foil.

  • 1 cup or so of sauce, your choice
  • 1-2 c. cheese
  • Assorted toppings (precooked meats, veggies, fruit, herbs, etc)

Top the pizza as you like,, wrap the foil around the pizza, loosely around the top of the pizza so you don’t squash the toppings. Place in a large freezer zip top bag (don’t forget to label what kind of pizza it is) and freeze. pizzas should freeze at least 24 hours before cooking.

To heat, bake pizzas at 450 degrees for 8-10 minutes

IMG_2938Some of our favorite pizzas include:

  • Gyro (Sprouts sells it wit hthe pre-sliced deli meat!), feta, and spinach
  • Caramelized onions and peppers and sliced meatballs with cheese
  • whatever veggies we have in the house (broccoli, spinach, onions, peppers) topped  with cheese
  • chicken, bacon, and pepper jack cheese

 

You can substitute in whatever your fav crust is, whatever sauce, cheese, and toppings you like! And because the pizzas are room temp/cooled when you top them, it’s a great opportunity for kids to help assemble pizzas. These pizzas are a frugal way to have a yummy dinner- Each pizza costs about $3.00 and feeds the three of us!

 

 

Healthy Recipe: Pumpkin Protein Shake!

Abby H.

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We drink a lot of protein shakes. I have 1-2 a day. They help me stay full and keep me out of the fridge, and they give me the energy I need to wrangle the munchkins.

This is an easy, yummy recipe- especially if you like pumpkin!

Pumpkin Protein Shake

Makes 1 shake

Ingredients:

  • 1 scoop or pouch vanilla protein powder/protein shake (we use HMR 120)
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin (not the canned pumkpin pie filling, but the plain canned pumpkin)
  • 1/2 cup water (You can add up to an additional 1/2 c. if you want your shake thinner)
  • 1/2 cup ice cubes (You can add more if you like your shake thicker)
  • 2 T. sugar free butterscotch pudding powder
  • 1 T. sugar free vanilla syrup (like Torani)
  • cinnamon & nutmeg to taste

Directions:

  1. Place all ingredients in blender or magic bullet and blend for 1-2 minutes, or until all ingredients are blended and ice is broken down.
  2. Serve immediately.

Modifications:

  • If you do not use protein powder, substitute 1/2 c. fat free plain greek yogurt, and reduce water to 1/3 c.
  • If you are vegan, use soy yogurt (like Silk Brand).
  • If you have an ice cream maker, pour the mixer into the ice cream maker and use machine as directed for yummy pumpkin ice cream!

Calories for base recipe with no modifications: 225 Calories

Schoola: $20 for You. $20 for your Friend. + $25 Gift Card to Amazon

Abby H.

I love Schoola, so I’m stoked to hear about their latest promotion!unspecified

Check it:  $20 for You. $20 for your Friend. 40% to Schools. + $25 Gift Card to Amazon

In the month of January 2016, refer at least 3 friends and Schoola email you a $25 gift card to Amazon. WOOO HOOO!!

To get started, click here. New to Schoola- that’s cool too. Sign up here and score $20 in new to you clothes for you, or your kiddos!

Here is a photo of Birdie in her latest Schoola outfit (and her forever photo bombing brother):

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