Top-It Raley's Pizza Review

Hi friends!  I hope you're having a wonderful day!  We are doing ok over here.  It is hotter than hot where we live!  We are spending the day indoors and maybe later we will take Parker out to celebrate his birthday because his celebration got cancelled when our van broke down in a major intersection on his birthday.  He had to spend the majority of his day waiting for a tow truck.  Poor guy!

Today, I'm writing about this awesome new program I'm trying for Raley's grocery stores.  It's a completely free program called Try-It where they give you coupons and free samples so you can (you guessed it) try it.  If you have Raley's in your area, I would HIGHLY suggest you sign up because who doesn't love free stuff?  Seriously.  You can sign up HERE.

***Note: This is NOT a sponsored post nor do I get anything if you sign up.  This is just a money saving post with some pics of the kids.  I did however get items to sample at a discounted rate.***

The first thing we got to try is the Top-It Pizzas.  For signing up for the program, we got a 50% off coupon for this, a free pizza cutter, and a few $1 off coupons.  The concept is that there are plain cheese pizzas and then you can get a topping kit to top it yourself.  We picked the 4 meat topping which has pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, and bacon.  The pizza was a nice size at 16 inches.

My kids had a great time adding the toppings!  It's the perfect way to have the kids help with dinner.  It's fun and you can teach them about fractions and whatnot.  The kids wanted olives on the pizza too so I grabbed some from the cupboard.  My husband doesn't like olives so I told them they could put them on half.  This next picture is Brady using his arm to show half the pizza.

After we topped the pizza, we baked it up and I couldn't even get a picture before people dug in and started eating it.  It was a very tasty pizza.  The crust got crisp on the bottom and stayed chewy on the inside.  There was TONS of pepperoni which is great.  I just wish there was more of the other kids of meat too.  We ate most of it and the leftovers the next day were good too.  I will definitely be using my coupons and buying more of these pizzas!

I hope that someone local can benefit from this post either by signing up for the program or finding a fun new dinner idea.  Have a great day, friends!  

Project Life 2013: Week 5

Hi friends!  I hope you all are doing well!  We are doing ok.  We got our van back and (knock on wood) it seems to be ok now.  Now, we need to start our summer adventures.  ;)  We haven't made any kind of list or anything yet though.  But I feel like we have to hurry because summer goes by SO fast.  I mean, June is almost over already!

Today, I'm sharing week 5 of my Project Life album.  Yeah.  I'm a little behind.  What can you do?  I don't want to give up because I love having these weekly layouts and I adore that we are recording those little everyday moments that might be overlooked in a 12x12 layout.  Onward I trudge.

This week, I used Walnut Grove from Pebbles.  I love love love this paper line and I feel like I didn't even use my favorite papers from this collection.  That's ok because I'll use this collection again on a different week.  I also used the stickers and Thickers that match Walnut Grove.  I also used a couple cards from MAMBI.  I don't think that the MAMBI cards have names but it was a love themed set.  Then I added some washi tape, wood veneers, enamel dots, mini alphas, BossyJoscie flair, and bling.

I'm also getting featured on Michelle Bostinelos's blog this week!  YAY!  I really enjoy Michelle's Project Life layouts!  She has two boys and a little girl, like me.  And her boys like the SAME things my boys like.  It's really cool to see her layouts.  Each week, Michelle does a Saturday PL Blog Hop.  I will be featured there tomorrow and I'm SUPER excited!  She always has the most talented and inspiring people on her blog hop.

Have a great day, friends!  

FBW #245

Hi friends!  I hope you are all doing well.  We are ok.  Still having van problems but hopefully this is the last of our problems.  Please keep your fingers crossed for us!  And we are wrapping up our couple weeks of non-stop birthdays so hopefully things will slow down for us.

This week's Flutter By Wednesday Challenge is a sketch from Kathy.  All you have to do is use the sketch and have a butterfly or fairy on your card to enter.  I love this sketch and tried to go a little outside the box with it.  I took the Maggie Holmes for Crate Paper paper (which I love) and punched the holes in it then I adhered it to the card with foam squares so there are little windows.  I added some Studio Calico wood veneer butterflies and stamped a Lawn Fawn sentiment.  Clean and simple but I'm pretty happy with it.

Have a great day, friends!  And don't forget to link up your creations on the Flutter By Wednesday Blog!  

Saving Money with Apps Part 2: Shopkick

Hi friends!  I hope you are well!  Today, I'm continuing my Saving Money with Apps series (for Part 1, click HERE) by talking about Shopkick.

***NOTE: These are NOT sponsored posts.  These are tips on saving money that I have tested and work for me.  During these posts, I will use my referral links if possible.  You do not have to sign up under my link if you don't want to (but I would be really grateful if you did.)  I'm just trying to help other people save money because I enjoy saving money.***

Shopkick is a different way to "save money" because you earn "Kicks" and you can cash them in for gift cards.  I personally use Shopkick to feed my Starbucks addiction.  I've gotten a BUNCH of Starbucks gift cards from them.

HOW IT WORKS:  There are different ways to earn kicks and they are pretty easy.

1. Walk Ins.  Shopkick offers a certain about of kicks when you walk into certain stores like Target.  I'm at Target A LOT for diapers, groceries, etc... so this is SO convenient for me.  All you have to do is open the app when you walk into the store and it will give you the kicks.  The kicks are added with the phone recognizes the PA system at the store so if it doesn't work right away, find a place where you can hear the PA system really well and it should work.  There are walk in kicks for lots of stores like Old Navy, Best Buy, Macy's, etc...  They are location based, so the app will pick the stores that are close to you.

2. Scans.  There are items in stores that you can scan for kicks.  You just find the item for example Covergirl Foundation and you scan it with your phone's camera and it will give you kicks.  You do not have to buy the items.  You just can them and you get the points.

3. Purchases.  If you link up your card to Shopkick, they will give you kicks when you purchase certain from certain stores.  For example, if you spend $50 at Target with the card you linked you can earn 200 kicks and 1 kick for every dollar at Best Buy.  This is awesome if you already buy things from these stores.

4. Going through lookbooks.  The different stores will put together lookbooks of products in their store.  Look for the lookbooks with a blue star in the corner.  The blue star means that lookbook has a bonus in it.  Usually it's only 1-5 kicks but if you are just stuck somewhere doing nothing (ie waiting for your kids to get out of school) then looking through the books is a fast and easy way to earn a couple kicks.

OTHER Bonuses:

A. Coupons.  A lot of the places in my town have coupons through Shopkick.  Things like $10 off $50 at Sports Authority, 20% off at American Eagle, or $1 off Huggies diapers at Target.  You know me, I love coupons!

B. Gift Cards.  Sometimes Shopkick will offer a gift card just for walking into a location.  I've gotten SEVERAL $2 Target gift cards just for walking in.  It happens a couple times a year but $2 free is still $2 free!

C. Donations.  If you don't want to use your kicks for yourself, you can donate them to charities like Ronald Mc Donald House or Red Cross.


I hope this post helps you!  :D  If you would like me to invite you to Shopkick, either leave a comment with your email or email me.  Have a great day, friends!

Flutter By Wednesday #244

Hi friends!  I hope you're having a great day!  I have fun news to share with you today.  :)  FOUR years ago, I was on a team and left to have a baby (Parker.)  Upon leaving, I was told that if I ever wanted to come back, there would always be a place for me.  Even though four years have passed, Danni accepted me back on the team with open arms when I asked.  :)  I'm so happy to be back with my Flutter By Wednesday friends!  This is ensure that every Wednesday, I will have a new card on my blog!  :D

This week's challenge is to make a Clean and Simple card.  Wow, did I come back at the right time or what?  The only requirement to enter the challenge is to have a butterfly or fairy on your card.  Easy peasy!  I pulled out this Amy Tangerine Yes Please paper again.  It's just so summery and happy that I had to use it!  I combined the Flutter By challenge with the Paper Smooches Sparks challenge for this week which is a sketch.  I used the Paper Smooches Flap Happy set for this, some enamel dots, and a little bit of Stickles on the butterfly's body.

Have a great day, friends!  And don't forget to link up your creations over at the Flutter By Wednesday Blog!  

Kiwi Lane Designs June Blog Hop (Giveaway)

Hi friends!  I hope you're having a great day!  A while back I was asked to participate in the June Kiwi Lane Designs Blog Hop and I can't believe how fast the time has flown!  I don't think anything makes time go by fast than having a new baby!

You should be coming from Karen Weingartner's Blog.  If not, hop on back to the Kiwi Lane Designs Blog to start the hop!  Leave a comment at all the blogs on the hop for a chance to win a $25 gift card to Kiwi Lane Designs.  One random winner will be drawn from all the blogs on the list (including the Kiwi Lane Blog.)  I will also be having a giveaway at the end of this post.

This was my first time using the designer templates from Kiwi Lane and they were a lot of fun to work with.  I got to work with the Playtime set.  I do a lot of moving things around when I create so these templates are perfect for me.  I managed not to waste any paper making this layout.

Full layout.

Right side.

Left side.

Title card with dragonfly from the set.  I cut the dragonfly out of the green paper and then used the pink paper behind it.  Not sure if you can tell.

Arrow template with a glassine bag.  I didn't want to cover up too much of this paper because it's one of my favorites.

Shield/road sign template turned on it's side to create a journalling area.

Arrow template again, on the layout it points to the picture that the journalling is about.

The dragonfly I cut out of the title card.

Giveaway: In addition to a chance to win the $25 gift certificate to Kiwi Lane, leave a comment on this post if you'd like to win the templates I worked with for this post.  I will send my set to one random winner.  All you have to do is comment.

Next up on the hop is Melissa Dehne.  And here's the whole blog order, in case you need it.

Kiwi Lane http://kiwilane.com/here/blog/

Omgits Emily http://omgitsemily074.blogspot.com/

Kristy Mackeen - http://mamasanity.blogspot.com

Heidi Trejo http://www.polkadotpixies.com/

Brenda Smith -http://www.Theimperfectscrapper.blogspot.com

Leslie Prinkki - http://www.scrapsofmine.blogspot.com

Karen Weingartner www.paperheartcrafts.blogspot.com

Ashley Newell - http://hearthugsdesigns.blogspot.com

Melissa Dehne- http://www.abitofscrappygoodness.blogspot.com/

Recipe: Angel Hair with Chicken and Feta

Hi friends!  I hope you're having a wonderful day!  We are doing pretty well.  Avery is teething but other than that, things are good.  The air conditioner on our van broke over the weekend and it's going to cost $600 to fix it.  We need to save up the money so until then, we are going to go without.  Which is a huge feat where I live.  Summer brings 100 degree weather here.  But we are having cool weather today (when I had to get the kids out of the house so they could spray for bugs) and I'm feeling blessed.

In my continuing quest to turn my blog into a lifestyle blog, I figured that I would share more recipes with you.  Now, I'm not that great at coming up with recipes.  I'm usually pretty by the book when it comes to cooking.  Though, I have a few recipes that I have adapted so far from the original that I feel comfortable sharing them.  

Angel Hair with Chicken and Feta
adapted from THIS RECIPE by Robin Miller

1 1/2 pounds chicken, diced into bite sized pieces
1 small jar sun dried tomatoes
1 small jar marinated artichokes
1 fresh vegetable of your choosing (I used zucchini, but I also like spinach or asparagus)
1 small package Feta cheese
1 pound angel hair pasta, cooked according the package directions
1/2 cup salted pasta water
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder (to taste)

1. Heat pan with some oil from the sun dried tomatoes.  Add chicken and cook until desired doneness.  I like to cook mine until it's brown for that caramelized flavor.  Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.  Remove from pan, set aside.

2.  Add some more oil from the tomatoes to the same pan.  Sauté the vegetable you picked.  Season.  Add sun dried tomatoes and artichokes and cook until heated through.

3. Reserve some of the pasta water from cooking the angel hair pasta.  (I heavily salt my water.)  Strain pasta and add back to the pot you cooked it in.

4. Add chicken and vegetables to pasta and stir.  Add desired amount of pasta water so that the pasta is coated.  Top with feta cheese.

I hope you enjoy this recipe!  Have a great day, friends!

Saving Money with Apps Part 1: Endorse

Hi friends!  I hope you are all doing well.  We are ok.  Avery is teething but other than that, things are pretty good.  Brady is out of school right now which is nice.  Perhaps, I will make one of those Summer Bucket Lists that I've seen going around.  :)

Today, I'm starting a new series on my blog called Saving Money With Apps.  I've had several friends ask my how I go about saving money.  One of the most simple ways to by using a couple apps on your smartphone.  Please note that these are NOT sponsored posts.  These are apps that I've come across in my attempts to be more thrifty that have worked for me.  However, I will be posting my referral links in the posts.  These are the same referral links that everyone is given to invite their friends.

First up is Endorse.  Endorse is the app that I have made the most money back from, hands down.  Here's how it works.  You download the app to your phone (iPhone or Android) and then each week they will send you offers.  You have 6 days to redeem these offers.  You redeem them by buying the items listed on the offers and uploading a photo of the receipt.  Kind of like a rebate but you don't have to mail your actual receipt or wait forever for a check.

There are a couple different kinds of offers.  The first type are ANY brand offers.  These are for ANY brand you buy.  Some of the ones I've gotten are 50% cash back on any brand diapers, 100% cash back on any coffee, and 10% cash back on any brand gasoline.   Then there are brand specific offers like 50% cash back on Mountain Dew or 10% cash back on Quaker oatmeal or 20% cash back on Tide.

In addition to cash back, you will earn points for uploading your receipts.  You can redeem these points for gift certificates to Donors Choose which is a great program where teachers post things they need for their classroom and you can donate to them.  I've found Brady's school on Donors Choose and have been donating my gift certificates so they can buy things for their computer lab.  It's a really nice added bonus from Endorse.

HOW DO YOU GET CASH BACK?  That's what you really want to know, right?  After you submit your receipt, Endorse will review it.  If it meets the criteria, you get the cash and points added to your account.  Then whenever you want, you can cash out via Paypal.  This method is super fast.  I usually have my money in a few minutes.  OR you can request a check and that takes a couple weeks to come in your mailbox.

PROS:
~ You can shop at ANY store.
~ There are a lot of offers where they accept ANY brand.
~ Getting money back is fast.

CONS:
~ Some weeks, you won't have offers you want/need.
~ If your receipt gets ruined (too crinkled, ink fades, etc...) they might not accept it.

Personally, I've made hundreds of dollars by using this app in the last few years.  Usually from the 50% back on diapers and 100% back on coffee (hello Starbucks.)  But even if you save $5 a month, isn't it worth downloading a free app?  If you sign up, please use MY REFERRAL LINK.  I will get one whole dollar if you do.  ;)

Let me know how you like this series.  Again, I want to turn my blog into a lifestyle blog and one of the BIG things in my lifestyle is saving money.