1/27/2024 Weekly Freebies!

The 2023 Birthday Freebie post is here! Make sure to check this article out and sign up for birthday freebies at least 2-3 weeks before your birthday. The 2024 Freebie list will be up early next week.

If you are looking for free food resources, my comprehensive list can be found here. It is focused on San Diego County, but there are additional resources outside my area as well.

It’s Freebie time! There are all sorts of cool freebies this weekend.

Free No7 Beauty & Skincare Products
Free Sample of Stem & Root Bye Bye Blah Probiotic Supplement
Free Bag of Joydays Cookies After Rebate
Free e.l.f. Skin Holy Hydration Makeup Melting Cleansing Balm Sample
Possible Free ReguFIT Metabolism Booster Supplement Powder
Free Sample of Stem & Root Fitness Support Supplement
Free Crazy Aaron’s – Bounce into Spring Party Pack
Free Froyo at TCBY on February 6th
Free Pair of 89th + Madison Womens Pants – Just Pay Shipping
Free Gutzy Organic Fruit Snack Pouch After Rebate
Free Sandwich at Arby’s
Free YSL Beauty Black Opium Eau De Parfum Over Red Fragrance Sample
Free Suja Organic Protein Shake After Rebate
Possible Free Tia Lupita Non-GMO Cactus Tortillas
Possible Free Nature’s Fynd Dairy-Free Yogurt
Free Hartz Pet Samples & Products
Free Sample of Stem & Root Morning Boost Supplement
Free Love Scent Pheromone Samples
Free Bloomingdale’s Little Freebies Box
Free Box of Cream of Wheat Hot Cereal at Select Stores
Free Sample of Tanologist Face + Body Drops
Free Sample of SkinCeuticals Phyto Corrective Gel
3 Free Hartz Miracle Guard Dog Pads
Free Pack of CRUMBS Cookies After Rebate
Free Kroger Brand Sample Box
Free 4-Pack of Hella Bitters & Soda After Rebate
Free Mexican Fruit Fly Temporary Tattoo
Free Made By Dentists Stickers
Free Movie Tickets to See Ordinary Angels
Free 1-800-QUIT-NOW Notepads
Free Fries Every Week at Burger King
Free Medium Fries w/ Any $1 Purchase at McDonalds – Every Friday
Free Autographed Disney Character Postcards
Free Pom-Pom Penguins Craft Event at Michaels
Free 6-Piece Wings at Popeyes
Where to Get Cheap (or Even Free) Passport Photos
Unlock Free Disney Movie Insiders Points with Promo Codes Today

Free Resources for San Diego County Families in Need

This is my annual post to help point you toward some free resources for San Diego County residents.

Food:

Clothing:

  • Naomi’s Closet is located in Santee, and they provide clothing and toiletries to women in need.
  • The Sonrise Church in Santee has a clothing swap/free clothing resource. One for kid’s clothes, and another for women’s clothing. Miss Charity’s Closet & Little Blessings Boutique 2nd Saturday of every month at 9:00 am Contact Charity Murphy for more info clmurphy71@gmail.com
  • The Closet of 54th. They are open once a few times each month.  They have women, men, and children’s clothing. You can find them on Facebook. They are located at the Calvary Lutheran Church, 3060 54th Street, San Diego, CA. Contact The Closet at thecloseton54th@gmail.com.

If you know of any other clothing resources, please leave a comment!

2024 New Years Sale from Yasukochi Family Farms!

If you are looking to eat healthier this year, save time, and money, this offer will help with all three!

Yasukochi Family Farms is offering a deal on all of their CSA box sizes, now through January 4, 2024.

They have deals on subscriptions from 1 month, all the way to 9 months!

To learn more, and see pricing, visit their website here.

We’ve been receiving their boxes for 3 years and it’s an amazing value.

Happy Holidays Y’all!

As you can tell from the lack of blog posts and social media posts/shares lately, I’ve been swamped. Getting ready for time off school for the kids, traveling to visit friends between Christmas and New Year, shopping, helping family, and busting out my end-of-year to-do list has been exhausting.

I did not do a New Year’s Resolution series this year, but I have done them in the past, and you can find that series of articles here. It includes the top ten NYR’s including saving money and getting organized.

I’ve been using a lot of Canva‘s really great templates for my new organizing stuff (Yes I have paper copies- the ADHD folks in my house need the reminders). It’s free and it’s so easy to use. In addition to the organizing sheets, I’ve made pantry and freezer inventory sheets, calendars, stuff for my day job, birthday party invitations, tutorials- Canva is pretty amazing. And it’s free!

 

Have a wonderful holiday season, whatever you celebrate. After the first of the year, there will be a Target Gift Card giveaway!

12/2/2023 Weekly Freebies

The 2023 Birthday Freebie post is here! Make sure to check this article out and sign up for birthday freebies at least 2-3 weeks before your birthday.

If you are looking for free food resources, my comprehensive list can be found here. It is focused on San Diego County, but there are additional resources outside my area as well.

It’s Freebie time! There are all sorts of cool freebies this weekend.

Free Sample of Earth Animal Wisdom Air-Dried Dog Food
Teachers – Free Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures Kit
Free 12 oz. Celsius Energy Drink at Select Stores
Free Peyton Canning Talking Can Opener on Dec. 5th
Free Personalized TouchNote Greeting Card
Free Cookie at Circle K
Free CHKP Plant-Based Yogurt After Rebate
Free Sap’s Rapid Rehydration Sports Drink After Rebate
Free L’Oréal 12% Pure Vitamin C & Hyaluronic Acid Serum Samples
Free Dan-O’s Original Seasoning After Rebate
Free Cookie at Insomnia Cookies
Free Sample of Not Your Mother’s Intense Bonding Treatment
Free Iced or Hot Coffee Everyday at Dunkin
Free Future Society Fragrance Sample
Possible Free Cameron’s Coffee Specialty Coffee
Possible Free Ocean’s Halo Tortilla Soup Broth
2 Free Beneful IncrediBites from SampleSource
5 Free Disney Movie Insiders Points
Free Kindle eBook This Month on Amazon
Free 2024 Dogs of Wayne Homes Calendar
Join Enfamil Family Beginnings for $400 in FREE Gifts
Free Coffee at Dunkin Through 12/31
Free Disney Movie Insiders Points Every Weekday thru 12/31
Free Footlong Cookie at Select Subway Locations
Free Pet Photo with Santa at Petco – Today
Free Photo with Santa & More at Bass Pro Shops & Cabela’s
Free 2024 Promise Calendar
Free 3-Months of SiriusXM – $54 Value w/ No Credit Card Needed
Free $5 Shop Cash from Beis
Free Coffee Every Friday at QuickChek
Verizon Up Rewards – Possible Free $20 Amazon Gift Card
Free 2024 Unity Calendar
Text for $10 Off at Lane Bryant = Free Item
Free Where is Bear Book

San Diego Special Needs Dental Clinic

I found out about this recently and thought I would share this resource. I’m sure some of you might need this service. The La Maestra Clinic in El Cajon has a Special Needs Dental Clinic. They specialize in helping kids with special needs get the dental work they need.

They accept Medi-Cal, cash, and most insurances. Walk-ins are welcome.

Address: 1242 E. Main St., El Cajon, CA 92021 Phone: (619) 328-1335

Gift Ideas for the Creative Person in Your Life

With the gift-giving holidays coming up, I’m trying something new this year. I’ll be posting several gift guides with different themes. These themes are based on the people I shop for, and you probably have some similar people on your gift-giving list.

I’ve been scouring the web looking for different, fun gifts for the creative people in my life. I’ve found some pretty good deals and gift ideas.

First off is Craftsy. I love Craftsy. They have all sorts of video tutorials for sewing, baking, knitting, painting, drawing- You Name It! They have a great deal where you can have unlimited access to over 1,500 instructional video classes across more than 20 categories, Craftsy has something for everyone to enjoy. Plus, with Craftsy Membership Sharing, you can share your membership with up to three of your closest friends or family members at no additional cost to you or your guests. With this special offer get Craftsy Premium Membership for ONLY $2.49 for your first full year. 

I’m getting my mom a Craftsy membership- She loves watching craft videos on Youtube, and I feel like this takes it up a notch.

Next up are the gifts for the person who loves to draw and color. Bitty Bird loves to color and she loves alcohol markers. She has a small 20-color set she bought with her allowance earlier this year, but she’s been eyeing the marker sets from Ohuhu. I’m not sure which set I’ll buy her yet, but it will be her “big gift” of the year. One thing I love about Ohuhu markers is that they sell ink refills for them!

If you have a little artist in your family, Ooly has a great gift guide for this year.

They have gifts for every little artist on your list:

If you’ve got a more serious artist or creative type on your list, Blick Art Materials is a great go-to. From acrylic paints to tie-dye supplies, Blick has an amazing selection of creative supplies. Currently, there is a coupon code for free shipping too! Free Shipping for orders $49+. Use promo code CFEZ.

Black Friday Big SaleFor the Lego/Brick builder in your life, Let Bricks has some cool MOC’s (MOC stands for My Own Creation) on sale.

Let Bricks has its own Gift Guide with lots of great options for any budget.

I’ve already got a couple sets picked out for the special builders in my life.

**This post may contain affiliate links, for more information about how we use affiliate links, please visit our Disclosure page.**

 

Q-Insights: New Studies Available!

QI-logoNOslogan.pngQ-insights is another company where 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 in San Diego County. Right now they are recruiting for two new studies!

  1.  Females for a 1-hour online focus group and pre-work. The focus groups will take place on Friday, Dec 1st, 2023. If you complete the pre-work and focus group, you will be paid $275. If you are interested in participating, please fill out the survey here. 
  2. Kids Education Study: The study will run starting on November 30th-December 6th it will pay $185 as a thank you for your time.

    If you are interested in participating, please fill out the survey here.

State of the Blogger November 2023

Hey friends, it’s been a hot minute. Honestly, with everything going on in our lives, by the time the kids are in bed, and I’ve got all of my household reset tasks done for the night, I am too exhausted to sit down and blog.

In fact, I “wrote” most of this using my phone’s talk-to-text feature. Seriously. So tired.

The past three months have been busy, and have been snowballing too insanely busy. Hopefully, this month will be a little more forgiving, but I don’t hold out much hope.

I have been using a lot of KC Davis’ resources to keep my house and my life somewhat organized. Using a weekly care task list has been very beneficial. As well as having an end of day reset task list. The end-of-day reset basically it’s just a way for me to give “future me/tomorrow me” a break.

While all of these are on the daily list, they don’t always all get done. A bare minimum is that I take my meds and drink a bottle of water before bed. Sometimes it’s the bare minimum and sometimes I get all of it done.

Between kid’s activities and family stuff, it feels like every weekend has just been something.

This week it was a few activities in the morning, and I spent time this afternoon rearranging parts of the garage, steam cleaning the couch, living room carpet, and my bedroom floor, as well as refilling pantry stables in the kitchen.

Because the one thing I have been putting off in the past month or so is a large restock grocery trip. Our stockpile of key ingredients has dwindled, and since we don’t have a garage attached to our home, bringing up large loads of groceries is my least favorite thing about grocery shopping. However, I broke down and did it last night. I went to Costco by myself and got all of the things we stock up at Costco. And I got a couple extra treats.

So what you can expect to see from now until the end of the year is:

  • More easy, healthy, and tasty recipes
  • Realistic Deals for gifts, and practical gifts for the whole family (including a post with $15 or less stockings from Dollar Tree for each member of the family)
  • Weekly Freebies
  • More time-saving ways to keep your home running smoother

Originally I had a bunch of stuff planned, including giveaways and contests, however, my favorite family blogger event- WOW Summit by Moms Meet was canceled because the May Group (its parent company) went bankrupt earlier this year.  I always connected with brands, bloggers, and friends there. It was a big event for me to go to and came home with all kinds of goodies to share via giveaways and contests. That was the second blogging event that was canceled this year.

I’ve got some meal prep to do- Have a great evening, and I promise, good stuff is coming!

 

Today is National Child Health Day!

The first Monday of October is National Child Health Day. I’m taking a little time today to share some ways you can keep your kiddos healthy while still staying on budget.

Here is my post about how to care for your children’s vision on a budget. If your kids are hard on glasses like my big kid is, contact the company/optometrist’s office if the glasses break within 6 months of receiving them. My kiddo gets 1 pair per year through insurance, and I make sure that if anything goes wrong, we contact the office and get them repaired or replaced ASAP.

Here in California vision and dental insurance is included under health insurance plans for kids 18 and under. To learn more, check the back of your kid’s health insurance card for phone numbers.

Studies have proven that poor dental health and hygiene can lead to other more severe health issues, so please take care of the kiddos chompers! My kids love the Toms of Maine Strawberry toothpaste (also available in fluoride free).  They are not bubblegum or mint fans. Whatever it takes to get them to brush their teeth!!

Another thing that is important to overall health is PROPER REST. The CDC recommendations can be found here. My littlest is hard to get settled for bed, so here are some of the ways we help get her ready to rest each night: