Kelly's Thrifty Tips -

This is how I feel. Not really how things are though. I am just dramatic. :)

I apologize for not getting this posted at my usual time, but I have been kind of in non-stop mode. We are heading off to the Women of Faith conference today. I had to pack this morning, put laundry away, get my son set for school, and inform him of what he needs to do for tomorrow (as he will be heading off on his own to the bus). My husband will be home for backup, but as a mom, I worry. And as a mom, I will probably be calling or texting my son tomorrow to make sure he is okay. Ahhhh me...such is life. :)

For the past few weeks, I have kind of dabbled in prepping for Christmas. Last week, I talked about getting some seasonal jobs. This week I thought it would be a good idea to bring up one of my favorite Christmas links. Organizing Your Way has a free Christmas Planning ebook as well as some fabulous printable planning sheets that can really take the edge off of your Christmas planning. There is a To-Do list, a Christmas Card List, a Shopping List, Budget Planner, Baking Planner and more. I mentioned this fabulous resource last year, and I wanted to give you the heads up again. All of these will really help you get it together for Christmas. I highly recommend checking these out. The holidays go so much more smoothly when we take a little time to just plan.

LINKS: Organizing Your Way Christmas Planning Printables

FREEBIES -

FREEBIES TO NOSH

ZonePerfect is giving away Cookie Dough Nutrition bars through their facebook page starting at 3pm ET (we are talking noon in AZ) to their first 40,000 fans to sign up. :)

LINK: ZonePerfect

You can get free chips and a regular fountain soda at Quiznos when you buy a regular sub, large sub or a regular chopped salad! Follow the link to print your coupon which also has all the details. This coupon expires 10/10/2010.

LINK: Quiznos Coupon

DOLLARS OFF

Check out the Dollar General's facebook page for a printable for $5.00 off the purchase of $25 or more! This coupon is only good for 9/30, 10/01 and 10/02.

LINK: $5 off $25 Dollar General

FREE PRETTY

Get a free 10-day supply of Get a free 10-day supply of your ideal liquid foundation shade from Estee Lauder starting October 1st to October 31st. The offer is of course good while supplies last so I wouldn't hold out too long. For locations go here: http://www.esteelauder.com/storelocator For more info check out their facebook link below.

LINK: Estee Lauder

RANDOM FREENESS

Okay this is a freebie you give. You can send a friend, loved one, or even a co-worker a package of Kleenix. I suppose this may seem kind of silly, but let's face it, cold season is hitting, and who wouldn't like a little box of Kleenix on hand. Again this isn't a freebie for you, it is a freebie to give. Of course you can ask someone to send you one. :)

LINK: Kleenix Softness Worth Sharing

Earth's Best Organic has a free sample of their baby formula. Just like them on facebook to get the deal. This is again the kind of freebie that comes in handy for say...the diaper bag. Follow the link below.

BABY CUTIE FREEBIES

LINK: Earth's Best Organic Formula

Get a Beechnut Stage 4 Toddler Welcome Kit when you sign up for Beechnut's newsletter.

LINK: Beechnut Toddler Welcome Kit

MUSIC

FreeCCM's new download for the week is "Sometimes A Begger" by Caedmon's Call. And you can still get free downloads from Bart Millard, Disciple, The Afters, Phil Wickham and Sara Groves.

LINK: FreeCCM

iTickets.com has a download of "Real Life" from Lincoln Brewster and Jesus Is My Denomination by Mike Abrams.

LINK: iTickets

Sign up for the Hear It First newsletter and get free music downloads every week. This week I got Michael W. Smith's "You Belong To Me" and "Children of the Light" by Lecrae.

LINK: Hear It First


LISTEN FOR FREE

Want to check out Michael W. Smith's new CD "Wonder"? You can listen now at New Release Tuesday.

LINK: New Release Tuesday

PICTURE PERFECT FREEBIE

Head on over to Walgreens website to order a free 8 x 10 Collage Print. Use the code FBCOLL at checkout and set it up to pick up at the store so you pay no shipping. :) This is good TODAY only (10/01). Well it was good yesterday, but I'm not on the air on Wednesday. This can make a really cute gift for grandparents. :)

LINK: Walgreens 8 x 10 Collage

That is all for today folks. I have something special cooking up for next week though. See you then!

Kelly's Thrifty Tips

Mother's Day is this Sunday, and really I just wanted to focus on some inexpensive things that will make mom feel special on Mother's Day.

If possible, a great thing to do is just spend some time with mom. I can think of nothing better than a gift of just hanging out with my son (and maybe a foot rub). :) It doesn't have to cost a lot of money to let your mom know how special she is and how much you appreciate her.

There are lots of fun and free printable activities and other great ideas for giving to mom at Kids Turn Central. Follow the link below.

LINK: Kids Turn Central Mother's Day

Get a Free 8 x 10 Photo Collage for mom from Walgreens. Order online with pick up in the store. If you order for delivery, it will cost only 99 cents. Photos make great gifts! Enter code GOODTHOUGHTS for this great giveaway and check out by Saturday May 8th!

LINK: Walgreen's Photo Collage



Bath Salts Recipes: Sometimes there is nothing like a long soak. As a mom, I appreciate it more than ever. Here are some really easy bath salts recipes that can be made for mom.


SPECIAL NOTE: THERE IS A LARGE SCHOOL OF THOUGHT SAYING IT IS WISE TO AVOID ESSENTIAL OILS DURING PREGNANCY. ESSENTIAL OILS ARE A MAIN INGREDIENT IN THESE BATH SALTS. DO NOT USE THESE RECIPES IF YOU ARE PREGNANT. ALWAYS TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR FIRST.

Energizing Bath Salts - This is a perk you up recipe

2 cups Epsom salts
1 cup sea salt (check natural food stores)
6 drops eucalyptus oil
10 drops rosemary oil
15 drops of peppermint oil

You can also add a few drops of food coloring to make the salts pretty. I prefer no color, but food coloring will not effect the salts.

Mix all the ingredients together and put in a pretty jar or even a canning jar with a nice bow tied on the lid.


Clear Thinking Bath Salts (a good stress relieving bath salts recipe)

2 cups Epsom salts
1 cup sea salt
8 drops of peppermint essential oil
8 drops of rosemary essential oil
8 drops of lavender essential oil

Make Up Bag

Kaboose has an easy step by step guide to make a great make up bag for mom. Check out the link below:

LINK: Kaboose make up bag


Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Safeway has 16 ounce packages of strawberries on sale for 88 cents each. Check out this easy chocolate covered strawberry recipe for a tasty treat for mom:

Ingredients

• 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 pint fresh strawberries with leaves

Directions

1. In a microwave-safe bowl, or in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, cook chocolate until melted. Stir occasionally until chocolate is smooth. Holding berries by the stem, dip each one in molten chocolate, about three-quarters of the way to the stem. Place, stem side down, on wire rack and chill in refrigerator until hardened.

NOTE: I copied this recipe from All Recipes.com. It was suggested by other readers that you may want to spoon the chocolate over the strawberry over the bowl in case you are afraid the stem might break. They also suggested laying the strawberries on wax paper afterward which I highly recommend too.




Freebies -

Quiznos is currently offering free Kidz Meals which include Kidz Subs, Sammies and Pizzas. This if for children 12 and under and must be combined with the purchase of an adult entrée. So far this doesn't have an end date so you definitely want to take advantage of this deal while you can. Don't for get that the child must be present AND check with your local shop to be sure they are participating.

Free CCM's free download this week is Joy Whitlock's "Beautiful." They also still have downloads available from Mark Harris, Bart Millard, Caedmon's Call, The Afters and Catalyst Music Project. That is a lot of free music!

LINK: Free CCM Downloads

Get a small free travel sized soap sample of Lever 2000 thanks to Sam's Club. You do not need to be a member.

****I am jumping back on after posting to add this. Chris and Conrad are offering a free song down load as a little bit of fan appreciation. Head over to the link below!

LINK: Chris and Conrad Free download

LINK: Lever 2000

Get a free sample of Sun Crystals sweetner made with Stevia and sugar.

LINK: Sun Crystals

Kraft Foods is also offering an awesome sample pack for their facebook fans until May 10th or until supplies last. There are four sample packs to choose from. Each sample pack will also include a rebate form for a $10 rebate when you purchase $30 in Kraft foods from May 23 to June 16! The first step is to "Like" them on facebook, and then just follow the rest of the directions.

LINK: Kraft Delicious Summer Sample Pack

I have talked about Swagbucks before. It is one of the other search engines I use. First I go to www.goodsearch.com, because every search I do gives a penny to the non profit I select. That can really add up when you have a lot of people even doing just a few searches a day. I also use Swagbucks.com, because each time you search you can win Swagbucks which can be traded in for prizes like Amazon gift cards, books, magazines and other items. I save mine up for Amazon gift cards which really helped take a dent out of some of my online shopping. Right now is a great time to join Swagbucks if you haven't yet, because new members who sign up before Friday, May 7 and enter the code SWAGNATION5 will get 50 Swagbucks.

LINK: Swagbucks


Free Books for Reviewing - If you are an avid reader and like to share your opinion, reviewing books may be for you. Below I have listed several places where you can read and review books for free. The important thing to remember is that you do review what you receive. Also disclose that you received the book in exchange for your honest review.


If you are a blogger who likes to read, you might want to join Blogging for Books. This is a program from WaterBrook Multnomah, a Christian publishing house who works with authors such as Francine Rivers, Cindy Woodsmall, Karen Kingsbury, and Dennis and Barbara Rainey. They are looking for established bloggers who like to read and are willing to share reviews of the books they have read. They provide the book, and the blogger provides the feedback.

LINK: Blogging for Books


Another great blogging for books kind of site is Book Sneeze. Yep, you read right. They are looking for bloggers who in exchange for a book will write a 200 word review on their blog and also on a consumer site like Amazon.com. Nice trade off for some great books.

LINK: Book Sneeze

Library Thing is an awesome site for finding out about new books, keeping track of your reads, connecting with friends and getting their recommendations and also free books. Library Thing has an Early Reviewers program which is wonderful. You kind of are put in a drawing with other readers who want to early review these books. If you are picked, they will notify you and send you your book. You read the book and post your review. What I like to do is post my review to whatever site I can including Library Thing. So I will post on my own blog, I will post at Library Thing, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and anywhere else I can. If you join, you may want to start reviewing books you have already read. It seems to increase the opportunities.

LINK: Library Thing Early Reviewers


Good Reads is another great site for book lovers to connect and share. They also have a book review program called First Reads. Publishers list the books up for giveaway with details about the book as well as how many they are giving away. Check out their site below:

LINK: Good Reads - First Reads


Also don't forget about Angelfood Ministries, The Treasure Box, and Bountiful Baskets. They all have ways to help you stretch out your budget.

Angel Food Ministries - Month of May Menu offerings
Order by date varies by location check out location nearest you for its deadlines. Example: Prescott's deadline is Sunday May 16th and pick up is May 22nd.

The Treasure Box - Month of May Menu offerings
Their deadline is May 9th for ordering with pick up on May 22nd.

Bountiful Baskets is a food co-op. You order by logging in online on Tuesdays at 10am to Wednesday at 10pm or until your site fills up. You pick up your veggies and fruit on Satruday at the pick up location. Be sure to bring a couple of bags. There is a join up fee, but it is just the first time. After that you pay your rate for the fruits and veggies ($15 for conventional and $25 for organic if it is offered) and a $1.50 service charge. I love how Bountiful Baskets has given me the opportunity to try veggies that normally I might not have purchased. You do not pick your produce. You get whatever the offering is for that week.

LINK: Bountiful Baskets