12/20/19 Freebie Friday!

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This is the last freebie Friday before Christmas! I’ve tried to include a variety of fun samples, events, and a couple deals.

Freebies:

Deals:

 

An Awesome Giveaway to Celebrate 1000 Posts!

Last week, we hit 1000 posts- That’s a lot of writing, sharing, and teaching in the past 4 years! To celebrate this milestone, I’ve put together an awesome giveaway.

Bloggers score free swag at every turn- Conventions, events, PR companies send us packages of swag to share, etc. I’ve been collecting swag for this giveaway for a few months (Thanks to the companies that were at the most recent Moms Meet Blogger Event last month- they gave me a lot of goodies to share), and I’ve got a box valued at over $250 to share.

FFC2F03E-48DA-4E1C-9B31-BE3392438284 (1).jpegThis box contains snacks for moms and kids, beauty items (including some AWESOME colleagen drink from NeoCell), adult coloring books, a moleskine journal, Vitamins and supplements (including probiotics and some awesome elderberry syrup), and perhaps my favorite item:

5f9d406f-5325-47a0-a0a3-9241fd5668a9.jpegPlus CBD oil Hemp Balm. It has a light mint scent, and it really helps with muscle and joint pain.

And not pictured but included is a $25.00 Amazon Gift Card, which will be delivered via email to the winner.

I’ll continue to add items to the box until the giveaway concludes- and I’ll be posting pictures of those items on our Instagram feed– don’t forget to follow us!

Entering to win this awesome box of goodies is super easy. Click here: a Rafflecopter giveaway  to enter via our rafflecopter widget (It may not be mobile friendly). You can also enter via our Facebook page here (Not sure this is mobile friendly either).

A winner will be chosen at random via Rafflecopter on 12/18/19 and will be notified via email. US residents only, local San Diego, CA area winner may arrange for pick up of prize in lieu of package being mailed.

This giveaway is to thank you all for reading and following my blog for 4 years, and some of you have been following me since I started blogging, over 8 years ago.

To Get Started after you visit the rafflecopter widget, leave a comment: What will you spend the $25 Amazon Gift Card on?

 

11/29/19 Friday Freebies & Deals

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It’s Black Friday and I’m sure y’all are up to your eyeballs in Black Friday Deals and bargains, so I’m bringing you all kinds of fun free stuff this morning!

Freebies:

Deals:

5 Gifts for Dinosaur Fans!

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. My whole family loves dinosaurs, I think the cat may even like them.

While searching through a couple sites yesterday, I found some awesome, funny, and cheeky dino-themed gifts that would make any dino lovers dream come true.

lady dino.jpgThis Victorian Velociraptor shirt is awesome- and because it’s on Zazzle, you can get it in any size, for any age. Prices vary, but through tonight at midnight save 40% off with coupon code CARDSANDMORE.

If fancy lady dinosaurs aren’t your speed, don’t fear, Zazzle has tons of cute, funny, even scary dinosaur shirts, including officially licensed images from Jurrasic Park.

dino lamp.jpgTwo Words: DINOSAUR LAMP. Ok, maybe I love this because I have an 8-year-old dinosaur lover in my house, but this lamp is 100% awesome. There are several options available at various price points, but tonight through midnight save 20% off with code CARDSANDMORE.

This next item I have and wear frequently. It’s this rocking T-rex skeleton necklace. Channel your inner Mrs. Frizzle!

Speaking of Mrs. Frizzle, while I was looking for new leggings on Amazon last night, I came across this company, Cow Cow. They have Dinosaur Leggings. Not just one or two patterns, but over a dozen different patterns from dino skeletons to realistic dinos, to cartoony looking dudes. I may have added several designs to my Amazon Wishlist.

Now the title of the post says TOP 5, but really, there are so many great dino gifts, that I had to share one more.

Dinopillow.jpgShutterfly has tons of great dinosaur-themed gifts, including school supplies (folders, binders, backpacks), customizable puzzles, aprons, cups, plates, and so much more!

Shutterfly is having a 50% sitewide sale that ends tonight at midnight! No Coupon Code Needed!!

Funovation Panel is looking for Members!

I’ve been a member of the Funovation Panel for a few years now, and we’ve tested several toys for them, and won a couple gift cards!

  • The Funovation Panel is a community of families that provide their feedback about new toys, videos, images, and much more. We’re looking for new members to help us understand what families want from toys today.
  • Members are invited to participate in projects such as in-home toy tests, early screening of TV shows, trend identification, and providing input on toys and ideas in the early stages of development. Help shape what will appear in stores and on screens across the world to better suit your family!
  • Also, to show our appreciation, for every Funovation survey you complete, you will be entered into a drawing for one of three $50 Amazon gift cards. That starts with this one, so click below!

Easy Home Maintenance: Cleaning Your Box Fans!

Screen Shot 2019-09-15 at 7.35.48 PM.pngRecently, we noticed that our box fans weren’t providing much cool air. Before dropping over $150 to replace them all, I decided to see if cleaning them would improve their airflow capabilities. After all, they were still functioning mechanically, they weren’t putting out the air flow they used to.

With temperatures in excess of 80 degrees almost all year round here, box fans are a needed appliance in our home. We can’t go without them, as running the AC is cost-prohibitive.

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Oh dear.

These fans are all about a year old, and while I have vacuumed the front and back of them previously (I do it once a week), they had never been taken apart and cleaned.

Gather all the tools needed before you start. For this job you will need:

  • A sheet to cover your work area.
  • A screwdriver (our fans all have Philips head screws)
  • A dish to hold the screws while the fan is disassembled
  • All-purpose cleaner. I used Comet Lilac Bliss- it’s what we had in the house, and it worked really well.
  • A stiff-bristled brush. I used the brush I use to scrub the soap scum/hard water deposits out of the bathtubs (like this)
  • Rags or really scratchy paper towels. You need something that will trap the dirt.
  • Vacuum Cleaner with a brush attachment.
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Before: This stuff was tough to scrub off!
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Once again, my Dyson Vacuum saves the day!
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After: So fresh and so clean!

Here are my tips for deep cleaning your fans-

    1. UNPLUG THEM! It seems like a no-brainer, but I’m going to remind you to not clean appliances that are still plugged in.
    2. Remove the front and back plastic pieces of the fan. Ours were held together with 6 screws.
    3. To remove the dirt/fuzz/cat/hair/whatever grossness that was on the fan front and back, I placed them in the bathtub and sprayed them down with all-purpose cleaner. I allowed them to sit for about 20 minutes while I cleaned the fan blade and fan case.
    4. Using all-purpose cleaner and a rag, carefully spray and wipe the fan blades, both front and back sides.
    5. Using the vacuum hand tool with the brush attachment, clean the interior of the fan case, as well as the backside of the fan motor. I was amazed at the amount of fuzz, dirt, and hair was around the intakes for the fans.
    6. Once the fan blades and fan case are clean, return to the bathroom and scrub the fan front and back. Rinse and dry completely.
    7. Reattach the front and back to the fan case, plug in and test out. All 6 fans worked 100% better after being cleaned. This is now a chore that has been added to the end of season home cleaning list.
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Re-assembled and working like new!

Cleaning all of the fans took about 2 hours, and that included time to make snacks for two very starving kids, let the cat in and out a few times and help with math homework. Without distractions, I could have gotten done in about an hour.

In the future, I may invest in some of these Box Fan Filters, which until today I had no idea existed.

Taking care of appliances, like these box fans is just another way that we are able to extend the useful life of often-used items in our homes, and that saves us money in the long run.

Talk Back: What types of small things do you do to extend the life of your small appliances?

Top 10 Herbs and Spices needed for a Well-Stocked Kitchen!

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I get a lot of people who ask about my spice rack- what do I keep in my kitchen, since we cook at home so much. I made a list of what I use, then I polled my Facebook friends. Below is a reflection of what we use most at home, plus what most of my foodie friends use too all combined into a handy dandy top ten list!

I prefer spices and herbs from Penzey’s– They have the best quality and a wide variety. They tend to be a little more expensive, but they are very high-quality herbs and spices, and you will use much less than their cheaper counterparts. If you have a Penzey’s store near you, it’s worth checking out. Join their mailing list- they frequently have coupons for freebies and really good deals (and free shipping sometimes too if you don’t live close to a store). Penzey’s also sells their spices on Amazon!

  1. Mural of Flavor
  2. Cinnamon
  3. Cumin
  4. Chili Powder
  5. Italian Seasoning
  6. Oregano
  7. Ginger
  8. Bay Leaves
  9. Paprika
  10. Turkish Seasoning

These are of course in addition to Table Salt, Kosher Salt, a pepper mill for freshly cracked pepper, roasted garlic, granulated garlic, toasted onions, onion powder, and air-dried shallots. For me, these are pantry staples and every kitchen should have them, as they are used in so many recipes, in addition to the 10 above.

 

Talk Back: What are some of your favorite seasonings?

Earn Amazon Gift Cards with Up Voice!

Screen Shot 2019-08-26 at 8.06.04 AM.pngDo you spend time on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Linkedin, and Amazon? If you do, consider joining UpVoice! UpVoice is BrandTotal’s user panel. We use the data that we collect from the UpVoice panel to build special insights for brands on their advertising activities and the ad campaigns of their competitors.

How does it work?

Screen Shot 2019-08-26 at 8.06.11 AM.pngAs you visit Facebook, YouTube, Amazon, or any other of the participating sites on your desktop computer, they anonymously collect the ads that you see and give you daily tokens that can later be redeemed for Amazon Gift Cards. Once you visit one of the participating sites, it may take a few minutes for your token balance to be updated.

They are a market research firm and therefore the data we collect is only used for providing brand marketers with advertising campaign insights.

If you’re qualified to become an UpVoice panelist, you will get a link to install the UpVoice Chrome extension. The UpVoice Chrome extension can only work on a Chrome browser (or other Chromium-based browsers) on your computer (and not your mobile device).

Screen Shot 2019-08-26 at 5.03.11 PM.pngI’ve been a member for a little over a month, and I cashed out for my first $10 Amazon Gift Card today!

To get started, click here.

8/9/19- Friday Freebies and Deals!

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It’s Friday- Time for Freebies and Deals! This week is pretty small, but everyone is a good one!

 

Deals:

Lodge Cast Iron Scrub Brush ONLY $4.56 on Amazon

Harry Potter Complete 8-Film Collection $39.99 (Reg. $100)

FREE Harrys Razor, Shaving Cream and Cover (just $3 to ship)

Eyeshadow Brush Set ONLY $5.50 (Reg. $13)SoBe LifeWater ONLY$ 0.90 Each on Amazon

Melissa & Doug Fill & Roll Grocery Basket ONLY $10.99 (Reg. $25)

 

Freebies:

Free Books, Journals, Stickers & More (I’ve done this one before- I scored a journal)

2 Free Chicken Tacos & Shake at Del Taco

Sprint Customers – Free $2 Amazon Gift Card

Free Pack of Baseball Cards on August 10th

National Bowling Day – 2 Free Game of Bowling on Aug. 10th

Free Sample Box Tuesday from PINCHme is Coming SOON

Free Fruitlove Spoonable Smoothie at Albertsons

Free Quest Protein Bar for Kroger & Affiliates

Fly for Free if Your Last Name is Green or Greene

Free Subscription to Fast Company

PayPal Users – $5 Off at Subway (I’m trying this today!)

Free Sejoyia Coco-Thins at Walmart & Kroger

Free 24-Count Crayola Washable Sidewalk Chalk at Target

Fetch Rewards: Earn 10,000 Points!

unnamed.pngI am so stoked about this offer! 10,000 points is a $10 gift card (there are 20+ brands to choose from. I usually get Amazon)

Complete 3 referrals. Get 10,000 points.

 

Get 4,000 bonus points* when you share Fetch Rewards with three people from June 13 to June 23! You know three people, right?

Here’s how it works:

  • For each completed referral, you get 2,000 points when your friend scans a valid receipt. They get 2,000 points, too!
  • Complete three referrals, get a 4,000-point bonus. 
  • Congrats, you earned a total of 10,000 points!

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To get started, click here, or download the app from the app store or wherever you get apps. Use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score points after you scan in your first receipt with Fetch Rewards. Then you can refer friends and earn up to 10,000 points!

Just by doing my usual shopping this year, I’ve earned $30 in Amazon GC trough Fetch Rewards!

 

My disclosure statement is here. I’m here to help ya’ll save money, not make a million dollars!