free

Better than free shampoo at Target!

Abby H.

IMG_4385WOOOHOOO!!

Just as my stockpile starts to dwindle, my fav shampoo and conditioner comes up free! Through Saturday night (remember, Target sales start anew on Sunday morning), when you buy 4 13 oz Garnier Fructis Shampoo and conditioners at $2.97 each, you’ll get a $5.00 Target GC. It’s all of the 13 oz varieties, I just took a photo of this one shelf tag.

Deal:

Buy 4 13 oz Garnier Fructis Shampoo and conditioners at $2.97 each= $11.88

Use 4 $2.00/1Garnier Frucits Shampoo, Conditioner or Treatment (excludes trial) – from the 3/6/16 Red Plum

Pay $3.88, get back a $5.00 Target Gift card for your next purchase. Now that’s a deal!

I bought 4 (the coupon limit on the coupon is 4 like coupons per day), but I may buy 4 more tomorrow when I go back to the pharmacy to pick up my prescription! It’s deals like this that help me re-stock my dwindling stockpile.

50% off at Schoola!

Abby H.

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SQUEE! It’s back! 50% off at Schoola!  Just use Coupon Code  SPRINGBRK at checkout. And in addition, if you are new to Schoola, they are offering $20 free and free shipping when you sign up here.

In addition to offering awesome gently worn kids clothes, Schoola also gives a percentage (40%) of each sale to a school. So you can feel good twice: Once while your saving $$, and again because you are helping support a school in need.

To get started, click here. And I can’t wait to see what you have scored!

Score a free box of Quest Bars from VitaCost!

Abby H.

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We eat a lot of protein bars, especially when when we are on the go on the weekends and on busy school mornings. I love a cup of black coffee with a protein bar in the morning!

Right now you can score a free box of pumpkin pie Quest bars from Vitacost.com when you use code FREEPUMPKIN at checkout with any $25+ purchase.

I love Vitacost- They have great deals on vitamins, supplements, and natural skin and body care.  They usually have great promotions and freebies too! Just type in Free Sample into the search bar here.

Oh and it gets better! Free Quest bars, Free Samples, and $10 off!!  Sign up through my link here (I get a $10 discount off my next order of $30 or more too) and you’ll get $10 off your order of $30 or more.

Not sure what to buy? I get PB2 from Vitacost!

Family Fun this weekend at the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering 2016!

Abby H.

SDFSE-EXPO-Day-IMG_9641-Photo by Melissa JacobsHenry informed me the other day that he wants to be a farmer scientist. We’ve started our garden of tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers, lavender (to encourage bees to visit our garden), wild flowers, and a succulent. Henry really wanted to have a cactus garden, but I worried about Birdie being around pokey plants once she’s a little bigger and able to play outside on the patio.

I am super excited to take him and Bitty Bird to the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering 2016 down at Petco Park on Saturday, March 5th.

The event runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., we’ll be there at 10 on the dot. Henry is excited to get hands on with all kinds of experiments and fun! There are scheduled to be more than 130 local businesses, corporations and organizations providing interactive, hands-on science, technology, engineering and math exhibits and activities to budding K-12 science lovers.

New EXPO Day Features for 2016:
  • The Recycle Challenge: Are you familiar with the phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle? Are you into technology, creativity and want to help keep our planet green? Well, the blue bin isn’t the only place for your recyclables. With a little imagination and craftiness you can turn your “trash” into awesome works of art! In this Star Wars-themed challenge, students in grades 5 to 12, will convene in teams of four to design, build and present a wearable garment or innovative device out of recycled materials to wear in the Star Wars Universe! Student inventors will then present their creation and explain how they built it and/or where in the Star Wars universe it will be utilized.
  • K-Zone: Looking for a place where your youngest scientist can unleash their natural creative ability in a setting where they are free to touch, explore, and participate in whatever their developing minds can come up with? The K-Zone is a place where budding tinkerers can come and explore numerous activities guaranteed to nurture and engage their active minds. Go ahead and let them run free, they just might change the world. (this is where we’ll be for most of the day, I’m sure!)
  • TedXKids@ElCajon Take The Stage: In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. This local version will showcase the passion and potential of our children! Organized by the Cajon Valley Union School District, these students offer a unique platform to share their ideas. Connect with our future leaders, and leave inspired. Come see samplings of their talks throughout the day on the Dugout Stage!
  • Student Designed Merchandise: Come check out the winners of our STEM Design completion. This year we’ve got sizes for the whole family and newly featured women’s racerback tank tops! Pay tribute to our local student artists. The Festival continues to work hard to keep all items very family affordable with nothing over $10! The merchandise tent is located inside Park at the Park – check it out and get your awesome Festival gear to wear all year long!
  • Star Wars – Steampunk Universe: The two fastest expanding creative universes, Star Wars and Steampunk, will converge at the Star Wars – Steampunk Universe booth, just inside the Gaslamp Gate entrance. Learn how to salvage your everyday watch and bicycle gears, vintage brass plumbing parts, industrial revolution steam era antiques, old leather and lace into personal visual expressions of your love of the Star Wars saga. Come by and take photos with the Star Wars – Steampunk Universe crew. Kids will also be able to participate in a fun coloring activity. Booth attendees will also learn how Star Wars – Steampunk Universe turns “Cosplay into Cause-play,” combining their love of dressing up and participating in charity and community events.
  • Bright Idea Society Alley – Powered By ViaSat: No need to scour the map, our Bright Idea Society winners this year will all be gathered together in their own row inside park at the park! The three winning schools include Olive Elementary, Feaster Engineering Charter, and Dragons 5229 Boys & Girls Clubs. Come be fascinated by these young minds and let them teach you!

If you are looking for a fun, free event to take your kids to this weekend, check out the Festival! I hope to see you there!

9 Fun, Frugal things to do this Spring Break in San Diego!

Abby H.

Spring break is just a few weeks away for most of us. We get two weeks, and I know some schools get three (you have my condolences).  If you are looking for some fun, frugal stuff to do to pass the time, here are a few adventures we’ll be having:

Santee Lakes Splash Pad should be open. They are re-surfacing the ground there right now!IMG_0931_2

Shell Hunting at the beach: Low tide is the best time to go. Check the tide charts here.

Balboa Park offers Free Tuesdays at various museums in the park.

Hiking and a picnic at Old Mission Dam

Gillespie Field Duck Pond: Located on Billie Mitchell Drive in El Cajon, it’s a great place to stop, check out ducks and turtles and explore a little nature in the big city. Plus afterwards, you can stop by the Aerospace Museum Hangar on Kenney Road. It where the Aerospace museum keeps their place that are off exhibit or are being restored. It’s donation suggested, but you can pop by for free. The guys who work there are excited to have kids stop by. If you are feeling peckish, stop by the Gillespie Cafe and have a bite on the patio and watch the planes take off and land.

Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve: Lots of fun trails and paths, and if you’ve got it in you, there is a trail that leads down to some cool, hidden waterfalls! Don’t forget water and a snack!

The playground and Waterfront Park downtown are always fun. However, the water park area will be closed for maintenance for most of March. However the playground is RAD!!

Looking to enjoy a little bit of history? The Missions in San Diego are fun and educational. There are three in San Diego County: San Diego de Alcala (in Mission Valley), San Luis Rey (in Oceanside), and the Santa Ysabel Asistencia (in Santa Ysabel). If you go up to Santa Ysabel, stop for pie and bread at Dudley’s!

It’s wild Flower season out in Borrego Springs! Head down and check out the flowers, the funIMG_1520(and free) museum, and don’t forget to check out Galleta Meadows! The awesome metal sculptures in the Borrego Springs area by artist Ricardo Breceda. Check out a printable map here, and here is a video about the awesome sculptures. This is one of Henry’s favorite things to do!IMG_1501

If you are looking for other fun stuff, here is an article I wrote last summer about summer fun!

2 Great Freebies from Ralphs!

Abby H.1 Comment

Right now Ralphs club members can add two great real food freebies to their Ralphs Club Card!

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The first great freebie is  ONE  Free Bfree bakery item – includes loaves, rolls, bagels and wraps. Available ONLY at Ralphs. This deal expires on 02/29/16, so you best hurry!

The second is the usual Free Friday Download, but this week it’s actually something yummy and a little more healthy than the usual fare. Score one Free Kroger Greek Yogurt Pre and Probiotics, any variety (5.3oz). This deal expires 03/13/2016.

One thing that I really like about Ralphs is their Free Friday Download.  If you are new to Free Friday Downloads from Ralph’s, here is more info about how it works:

WHAT IS FREE FRIDAY DOWNLOAD? An exclusive benefit to having an account online at ralphs.com is FREE products (yes, we said FREE!). When you download the free product coupon, it will be loaded directly to your Shopper’s Card and applied at checkout in-store.

HOW DOES IT WORK? Visit this page on Fridays

DOWNLOAD the digital coupon for the free product (make sure to download between 12:01 am and 11:59pm PT). View the coupon under ‘My Coupons’ in your account online or in the mobile app.

You have two weeks to redeem this coupon in store! Pick up the product at your local Ralphs store and digital coupon will automatically apply at checkout.

Don’t forget to check back on Fridays to see if a free product is available for download!

 

I’ll be getting back into the habit of posting the freebies at Ralphs as they pop back up!

Learn a new skill from Craftsy for free!!

Abby H.

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I love Craftsy! I love making stuff and being creative, but sometimes it’s hard to learn a new skill or hone one you already have on a budget. Craftsy to the rescue! They have awesome free classes where you can learn to do all kinds of cool stuff from cooking and baking to knitting!

The free mini classes can be viewed on any device, so you can learn anywhere! Right now there are 47 mini classes that are free. Mini-courses  feature student-led discussions and are shorter in length than regular courses. They are a perfect way to learn new skills and experience the Craftsy platform first-hand.

Here are just a few of the ones I’ve saved to watch and explore:

For the complete list, click here.

Which Mini-Classes are you going to take?

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!

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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Enjoy The Great Outdoors at Mission Trails Regional Park!

Abby H.2 Comments
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Exploring the Dam is one of our favorite activities!

IMG_2796When I was a kid, my dad took my brother and I hiking a lot. We had all kinds of fun adventures, but I always loved Mission Trails Regional Park, specifically Old Mission Dam.

As Lil’ Man gets bigger, we are looking for more fun outdoor adventures. This last rain storm would be the catalyst for two days of big outdoor fun.

Friday, we loaded up and headed over to to dam. The past week of rain has really changed our usual path, so we got to explore some areas we’d never seen together.

IMG_2833It was a great chance for him to check out new trails, see erosion in action, splash in the cold stream water (there were a couple times we had to jump over streams to continue on, and well, we didn’t quite make it!), and see shells. There are a lot of little fresh water clams that make the river their home, as a result, we saw lots of shells!

We climbed, discovered, and navigated our way through the park for about 2 hours. IMG_2817By far the most exciting thing we found was an old, rusted car that had been shot at many, many times in the past. When you area four year old boy, nothing is more exciting than a rusty old car.

After stopping for snacks and water, we continued on to explore nature and hopefully find some cool rocks (another favorite pastime).IMG_2818

On Saturday, we headed over after lunch to the Visitor & Interpretive Center. It was closed, but we checked out the nature flora and the amphitheater. Then we did the loop around the center. It was a fun, easy walk (no pictures, we were too busy exploring).

It’s a quick 1 mile loop with a couple foot bridges and it overlooks the river, which is “raging” (as much as it can here) right now.

If you are in the San Diego area and haven’t been to Mission Trails Regional Park, you are missing out. There is tons of fun to be had and nature to explore. There are paths and trails for every skill level, and there is even a paved path along Father Junipero Serra Trail if you aren’t feeling adventurous, but still want to get outside. Parking is free, admission to the park and Visitor & Interpretive Center is free (but they do accept donations!). Most paths, except the paved road are not stroller friendly. Most paths are bike and/or Equine friendly, and leashed dogs are welcome.

And of course what better IMG_2835way to end a fun day of hiking, than with a little park yoga: