Fazoli's Coupons

Print these coupons and save some dough at Fazolis.

Free Kindle Apps

Ever since Amazon came out with the Kindle, I've been looking at it with a touch of envy in my eye. Reading is something the whole family enjoys, and we can hardly keep the eleven year old in books. He reads them as fast as he gets them.

We are frequent patrons of our library. We check out bags of books including books for school, reference books, and pleasure reading. Since the Kindle came out, I've dreamed of how easy it would be to just download a bunch of books to the Kindle to meet our reading needs. But alas, the library is free, and though there are many free books available for the Kindle, the Kindle itself is not free. While on this quest to pay off our debt, I could not justify the Kindle cost.

So, I am so thrilled that Amazon is now offering Free Kindle Reading Apps. There are free Kindle Apps for your Blackberry, PC, Mac, iPhone and iPad. I installed the PC app this AM. In a matter of minutes six free books were downloaded to our home computer. We now have Alice in Wonderland,  Edison, His Life and Adventures, and four other classics.

While not quite as convenient as the Kindle itself, I think the PC app is going to be a wonderful thing for us. Reference books can be purchased and stored digitally, instead of on my overstuffed bookshelf. Books needed for school can be had with a couple of clicks, and when the eleven year old is whining that he has read all his books, I will be sending him to search through the free Kindle book collections.

Yes, this is going to be good!

Cheap Groceries in Huntington, WV

I'm not sure if it is the increased activity because of the nice weather, or maybe the kids are going through growth spurts, simultaneously, but they are going through a ton of food lately. Keeping the cupboards stocked and sticking to the grocery budget has been challenging.

I am all about cheap groceries. I shop at Aldi and use coupons to keep our grocery budget under control. Recently a new store opened up near me, Global Liquidators. It is located at Big Seven Mile and Route 2 in the old IGA store building. The store reminds me of Big Lots only it isn't quite as big, and the prices are even cheaper. Here are some of my favorite finds there:

Starbucks Whole Bean Coffee - 12 oz. $2
Cereal - $1.50 per box
Cereal - just out of date $0.75 per box
Trader Joes Whole Wheat Flour - 5 lbs. $1.50
Frozen Vegetables - 16 oz. 8 for $1

All the food, except the aisle designated "just out of date," is in date. Some of the boxes are damaged though. They have more than food too. There are health and beauty items, and other household goods. Currently they also have a selection of landscaping items, including fruit trees. As with any other discount store or sale, you need to know your prices. There are some outstanding prices at the store, but some prices are not much different than what I would pay at Aldi.

The store opened a few weeks ago, and in that time my husband and I have become frequent shoppers. I love finding a store (especially one close to me) with cheap cheap prices.



On a side topic:
In searching for a web page for this store, I found that they have a clothing outlet on 4th Ave. To all my local readers,  Has anyone stopped there? How is it?

8MM to Digital

My parents have several 8mm movies made when I and my oldest brother were very young. (As in a long time ago.) For years we've all said, "We really need to do something with those old movies to save them,"  and talking about it is about as far as it got.

Last fall Tim saw a tutorial on converting your 8mm movies to digital. Unfortunately, I do not have the link to the tutorial, but the concept is very simple. Find a quiet room with a white wall. Set up a digital video camera on a tripod. Project the 8mm on the wall and record it with the digital. Here is how one of the movies turned out.




Obviously the quality of digital is dependent on the 8mm quality, but this is a quick and easy way to preserve an 8 mm movie digitally. Edits could be made and music could be added to enhance the movie.

This was our Christmas present to my parents. It required little money, and actually would have been free if we hadn't needed a new bulb for the 8mm projector. It only required a little time, and was a much appreciated gift.

Children's Place Swimsuit Under $10

I just ordered this cute swimsuit for my four year old for $8.50! This swimsuit, three pairs of flip flops, and two pairs of sandals are all shipping to my door for less than $45. The Children's Place currently has swimsuits on sale for $10, and are offering 40% off select spring styles. Use code C4A4A for an additional 15% off, and shop through Ebates for a 3%  rebate!

Free Starbucks

From the Starbucks Facebook page, "This Thursday - bring in a reusable tumbler and we'll fill it with brewed coffee for free." I like it. I like it alot.

The Squeakquel

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Alvin and the Chipmunks. All opinions are 100% mine.

Did you watch Alvin and the Chipmunks when you were a kid? I mostly remember hearing their music on the radio, and of course Dave screaming the always famous, "ALVIN!"

My kids love the Chipmunk movies. We recently had a free Redbox code to use, and I bet you can guess what they wanted. That is right "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel." The movie was fun and entertaining as always. I love that this is a movie that all my kids enjoy. My children are aged 11 to 4, and often it can be a challenge to find something that they all like. Movies that they all enjoy are worth purchasing in my opinion.

The movie is now available in a double disk bonus pack. The bonus disk includes more music and sing a longs. I know my girls especially would love that! You can buy it now by clicking the link.

Visit Munk yourself  to create your own personalized chipmunk. I'll admit to playing with it for awhile. You can dress it and then create an audio clip to listen to. For More Munk Mayhem check check out the website. There are Chipmunk games and activities for the family.


Have fun with the websites, and enjoy a family movie night with Alvin and the Chipmunks.

Winter Survivors

The idea of over wintering gardening has always been appealing to me. Fresh vegetables from the garden, year round, sounds wonderful. I've read about gardeners in my zone (6) and colder having success with growing  root vegetables and cabbage over the winter. Trying it is on my someday list. I expected it to take a bit of planning and effort on my part. I didn't know how easy it could be; as in I did nothing.

In the fall I planted several fall crops. The broccoli was fabulous. The cabbage was good. The spinach didn't do much, but I haven't had much luck with it in any season. The radishes and turnips were prolific. So prolific that I didn't get them all harvested before winter hit.

Root vegetables like turnips are tolerant of the cold. Our winters are typically a little cold and snow followed by above freezing temperatures. So, after the first winter blast came I figured I would harvest the turnips when we got some nice days. The nice days were few and far between this winter.  This was our the coldest winter, with the most snow, in a long time. The weather combined with the fact that the turnips were planted in our out of the way garden meant the turnips were never harvested.

Imagine my surprise, when on a trip to that garden a week ago to check the soil, I saw rows of greens growing. The turnips survived the winter and are now putting out new greens. The turnips themselves are delicious. I was afraid that they might be rotten or woody. The greens are mild, and we are enjoying fresh veggies from the garden tonight; turnip greens served with Pioneer Woman's Turnip Gratin. (Adjusted for the ingredients I have on hand.) And had I known (or checked) we could have been enjoying turnips all winter long. Who knew they were such winter survivors?

- Oh and I forgot to mention the spinach survived the winter too. It had the tiniest bit of new growth on it. We'll see if it actually produces anything.