Old Navy $12 Jeans Sale Saturday Only

A friend alerted me to a sale tomorrow at Old Navy! For one day only, in stores and online, select Old Navy Jeans are $12 for men and women. Kids are $7. Click the picture to go to the sale.

Food Allergies?

I stumbled on a blog that has a lot of helpful information for those who have babies with food allergies or intolerances. Take a look if you can relate: My Food Allergic Babe

Don't Get Mashed

My parents sent me this story:

A Girl Potato and Boy Potato had eyes for each other, and finally they got married and had a little sweet potato, which they called 'Yam.'

Of course, they wanted the best for Yam. When it was time, they told her about the facts of life. They warned her about going out and getting half-baked, so she wouldn't get accidentally mashed and get a bad name for herself like 'Hot Potato' and end up with a bunch of Tater Tots.

Yam said not to worry, no Spud would get her into the sack and make a rotten potato out of her! But on the other hand she wouldn't stay home and become a Couch Potato either. She would get plenty of exercise so as not to be skinny like her Shoestring cousins.

When she went off to Europe, Mr. and Mrs. Potato told Yam to watch out for the hard-boiled guys from Ireland. And the greasy guys from France called the French Fries. And when she went out west, to watch out for the Indians so she wouldn't get scalloped. Yam said she would stay on the straight and narrow and wouldn't associate with those high class Yukon Golds or the ones from the other side of the tracks who advertise their trade on all the trucks that say, 'Frito Lay.'

Mr. and Mrs Potato sent Yam to Idaho P.U. (that's Potato University) so that when she graduated she'd really be in the Chips. But in spite of all they did for her, one-day Yam came home and announced she was going to marry Tom Brokaw.

Tom Brokaw!

Mr. and Mrs. Potato were very upset. They told Yam she couldn't possibly marry Tom Brokaw because he's just......

Are you ready for this?


Are you sure?
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OK! Here it is!
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A COMMONTATER

Fruit Quiz Answer

The fruit pictured in the quiz post is a plum! Erin got it right. Nice job, my friend!

Maureen, I've never heard of a pluot but I looked it up, and you were pretty much right too. I wonder if this fruit is really a pluot and not a true plum? From what I read, a pluot is a cross between an apricot and a plum. If so, I wonder how you can really tell the difference.


I promise to post about the canoe trip sometime this week. It was difficult, fun and hard, and Ryan and I learned a lot.

New Poll!

Fruit Quiz!

What is this? Leave your answer in the comments.

By the way, with comments, you do not have to have a blogger account to leave a comment. You may choose Anonymous, and you can also choose "Name" and type your name in. I also do not have word verification to make leaving comments more convenient.

Hair Poll Results

You may need to enlarge the pic to see the words. I have another poll we can do. Would you like one?

Blowout Sale!

Have you heard the big news? TODAY ONLY you can get an excellent e-book package from MoneySavingMom.com which has over $100 worth of money-saving e-books, homemaking helps, and encouragement for only $5.97! Check it out here. I purchased these items a few months ago for $10, and this sale is even better.

What makes this deal so good is that this e-book package includes the e-course Supermarket Savings 101--this course alone is worth much more than $5.97 and will teach you how to drastically reduce your grocery bill. If high fuel and food costs are discouraging you and leaving you strapped for cash, you definitely need to buy this e-course.

Go here here to read more about this great sale! The price goes up Thursday, so get this money-saving ebook package at an incredibly low price while you can!

New Poll!

Thanks for taking my food poll last week! It was fun.

Since some of us are comment-shy and there are many readers of my blog, I want to get to know you some. I also want to get a feel for what you like about my blog. I will be posting various polls over the next few weeks, so be sure to check back for new polls! I am open to suggestions for types of polls.

POLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey guys! I'm trying something new on my blog. To the left you will see a poll. You have until Saturday morning to take it then I'll post the final results!! Get to it! Please and thank you.

P.S. You are answering this for yourself, not me. Just in case clarification was needed....

Items to Note

I subscribe to several blogs, and a couple items of interest were recently posted:

1. Free Crash Test Videos from Consumer Reports
2. Retirement Plan Rollover Chart
3. Barnes & Noble: Summer Reading Program--Earn a free book!

The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks

I added a funny blog to my Google Reader feed. I haven't viewed all the posts to determine if there is questionable content, but the posts from the last few days have been humorous. You can get the jist of it just from the title: The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks.

Great Sale on Makeup

UPDATE: I've read online that this company is a scam and never ships their products. I place an order last week and am now skeptical and advise not ordering anything.

I read about a great sale going on at E.L.F. makeup. The company was bought by Nordstrom so many ELF labeled products are listed at $1. She also gave a coupon code (CAROLINA) for $7.50 off your first purchase of $15 or more, which ends up covering shipping costs.

Some things I saw for $1:

• Eyelash curler
• Travel mirror
• Pressed Powder
• Blush
• Nail polish
• Nail files
• Brushes

There are MANY more products for $1. Check it out and save!

Splurges

What do you "indulge" in? Especially if you work to be frugal and live on a budget - do you occasionally splurge? On what?

Ryan and I have made a tight budget for ourselves so that we're saving about 36% of our take-home pay every month. There are some things, however, that I love to buy, such as All-Clad stainless steel cookware & Le Creuset cast iron cookware. I don't buy these items very often either but have tried to obtain some classic, versatile pieces over the years. I often find it for less than full price, either with a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon or buying from eBay. I know they will last a very long time and are high quality brands. Ryan and I just used some wedding money to buy this beautiful 8-Qt. Stockpot, new from eBay. It ended up being about $110 lower than the full retail price after shipping. There is an All-Clad seconds sale coming up in a couple months at the factory south of Pittsburgh. Instead of buying a couple other items from our wedding registry at BB&B, I hope to find the pieces at the sale.

We also both love Starbucks Iced Mochas but usually use our blow money on them. It's nice that we save in many areas such as cutting Ryan's hair at home, CVS shopping, selling items on eBay and amazon, taking time to look through grocery store ads, using the envelope system, among other things.

What about you? What items do you really like buying?

Pittsburgh!

This list was featured in the paper last year with articles surrounding the All-Star game.

Top 6 Things Pittsburghers apologize for in advance:

1) The Pittsburgh Left- If the first car in the opposing lane of traffic has its left-turn signal blinking, be careful. As soon as the light turns green, the driver likely will try to streak through the intersection before you do. Pittsburghers are, for the most part, wonderful people, but they can be awful drivers. [GUILTY!]

2) Liquor stores and beer distributors - You can't buy beer at liquor stores, you can't buy liquor from beer distributors and you can't buy any alcoholic beverage at a grocery store. Beer distributors are privately owned, but they're not allowed to sell you anything smaller than a case. And even though liquor stores are owned by the state, the state still charges an 18 percent tax on liquor. BYOB.

3) Road layout - The geography around here doesn't allow for a grid, but clearly the city planners could have done better than this. Streets seem to stop randomly or, worse yet, turn into a concrete staircase before continuing a block or two later as if this was completely normal behavior for a road. Right angle intersections are precious commodities, and roads have two or three names each, but that doesn't matter because they're often not marked.

4) Pittsburghers' casual relationship with stop signs, speed limits and turn signals - This comes from years of driving under the conditions explained above. It's sort of a passive-aggressive rebellion -- since they can't defy the roads, they defy the rules.

5) Directions from natives who use landmarks you only know if you live here - Nearly everyone who lives in Pittsburgh was born here. Not knowing the location of Gateway Center is as alien to them as not knowing where the sun is. Also, some residents take pride in having spent a lifetime learning the road system, and this sort of thing is their only chance to show it off.

6) Parking prices - Pittsburgh's 50 percent parking tax, increased two years ago when the city went broke, is by far the highest in the nation. When you pay your parking tab, think of it as a lesson in civic engagement -- when you go home, you'll know what happens if you let your local leaders spend every dime in the city's bank account.

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For any of you who visit or used to live in Pittsburgh...can you identify?

Two Things

Two foods I greatly enjoy are Iced Peppermint Mochas (Iced Double Tall Nonfat 2-Pump Peppermint Mocha, no whip) and Chili N Lime Almonds. Together? Not so much.

If you like Starbucks or another coffee shop (even if it is your house), what is your favorite drink?

Also, money Saving Mom posted about her favorite frugal blogs. Check it out.

Lastly, ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!!

Travel Coffee Mug Success

Back in December, I posted about a review by America's Test Kitchen rearding Travel Coffee Mugs. A couple weeks ago, we bought one of the recommended mugs for each of us, made by Oxo. We really like them!! The seal is great, drinking is a breeze, and the beverage remains pretty warm for a while. Ryan has been filling the mugs with boiling water for 5-10 minutes in advance of pouring the coffee. That way, the mugs are heated by the water, and the heat from the coffee doesn't dissipate as quickly. The other day, however, we were getting ready to leave in the morning and I was hurrying. I grabbed my mug to take a drink, thinking Ryan had prepared my coffee. He said "it's not done yet" or something close to that, so I moved quickly to empty the mug of what I thought was the hot water in order to pour in the coffee. Oops!! There was not water, but coffee in it, and I had just dumped my coffee down the sink. There wasn't enough for a second mug so I went without. It wasn't a big deal since I don't have to have coffee every day but it was an interesting moment of wondering who "messed up". I was hurrying and assumed Ryan meant something he hadn't.

Back to the mug itself, we particularly like the locking button to seal the mug closed when not drinking. ATK's complaint over cleaning hasn't been an issue for us. Ryan was content to get any old mug from Starbucks but I of course had to get a well-rated rated mug and had to buy with knowledge, lol, so he patiently waited for me to buy them. I got them both for less than $30 total and saved about $5 off the regular price of each after a 20% off coupon and a mislabeling of the price at Bed Bath & Beyond. (photo from amazon)

Speaking of coffee, Money Saving Mom referred her readers to an opportunity for a free sample of Starbucks coffee. Check it out. I don't know how large the sample is or if they are beans or ground coffee.

Stuff

I used to be better at blogging. I'd post photo quizzes, recipes, etc. Where have I been you might ask? Well, I am getting married in 23 days!! Wooooooooohooooooooo. That doesn't really answer the question but I'll pretend it does. Ryan and I are going downtown today to apply for our marriage license. Ryan is working hard to wrap up this quarter seminary despite some major setbacks. God is good.

• There isn't a single presidential candidate I like
• I can't wait to marry Ryan and see him EVERY day
  
• Work has been very busy and very frustrating at times, all stemming from the purchase of Benshaw by Curtiss Wright last summer. God has convicted me about my attitude and it's getting better.
  
• I'm excited to see my family in three weeks when they come for our wedding
• I can't wait to marry Ryan
• The salsa from this taco recipe is still my favorite, and it's really easy, and I cannot wait to bite into a Thai Burger again someday. They will be on the menu very shortly after Ryan and I return from our honeymoon. We hope to have his old roommates over for dinner so Ryan can brag about the upgrade in his living situation and I'll probably make those.
  
• CVS has been good to me (see here) with their Extra Care Buck deals and store coupons. Thanks to Crystal at Money Saving Mom for her regular posts on sales.
• The Bible study I was in just finished a 13-week series called The Truth Project, and it was very good.
  
• The Starbucks card I signed up for arrived this week.
• I can't wait to marry Ryan
  
• I complained in the past about airline delays. My last two trips went very smoothly with no delays! I went to Oregon with Ryan for Thanksgiving, and I went by myself for Christmas to Oregon.
• Yapta is a great tool. The price of our honeymoon flight dropped by nearly half over the last three months since we first purchased, and I have travel vouchers coming from United. I wouldn't have known about the price drop if Yapta wasn't tracking the flight for me.

This is a pretty cool video. You can't help get choked up (if you're a woman).

I'm Lost

Is the writers' strike over or was the new Lost season written previously? ABC has a trailer for the new season which doesn't appear to be a preview at all, and there is also a rapid fire, 8m15s recap of past seasons, and it's actually kind of funny with the way the narrator talks quickly and succinctly. Check it out.

Also, this baby is funny and cute.

Merry Christmas! I was in Oregon and am sad to be back since Ryan is still in Kansas through Saturday. I had a good time with my family though. We were apart this year since Ryan's family hadn't been all together for several years and finally were this year, and this was my family's first Christmas in Oregon. How was your Christmas?

We marry in 58 days!