My son is taking a career class in high school. In the class, they have to pick a career out of a hat. The career that they pick comes with an approximate salary that they will make. So then they have to take that salary and plan a budget to live on based on that salary. I think it is a great way to get them thinking about what they want to be when they get out into the world and all the things that they will be responsible for. So all of a sudden, my son who has not really ever thought about what things cost is talking about how much it is to buy a house, what kind of a car you can get for a certain amount of money, and even how much utility rates are that he found through Shop Electricity Rates Texas. And he is starting to try to give me advice on what I should be spending my money on. Even though it is a little annoying to me that he thinks he is an expert now, I am glad that something at his school is starting to make him think about important things that he never thought about before.
How many people out there are fan of champagne?? I myself even like it and I generally only like fruity alcohol drinks :). If you are a fan of champagne, or any other wine for that matter, www.wine.com is the site for you! Wine.com features many different red wines, white wines, champagnes, sparkling beverages and more. They also have many lovely gift sets that you can have shipped to anywhere in the countrty. Oh and they feature daily deals that you can get for up to 70% off! How great is that?!? A very great place to purchase your wine, in my opinion. Be sure to check it out! Oh and here are some fun facts on champagne :).
I was recently contacted to do a giveaway for PrintRunnerprinting services. This made me extremely happy! I love being able to give my lovely readers free gifts! For those of you who don't know what PrintRunner is exactly, let me give you a brief description. PrintRunner is a site that allows you to print postcards, stickers, business cards, brochures, posters, flyers, etc. The best part is you get to design your products however you like, you can even upload your own photos! If you have your own business or even if you just want to print out some invitations, this is a fantastic site for you. Be sure to check them out!
Now on to the giveaway details. PrintRunner has generously allowed me to give away 100 postcards to the winner. To the winner, these are the details that you will use when filling out your order:
Details of the giveaway prize: Postcards
Postcard Size : Postcards 5x7
Quantity : 100
Colors : 4/0 Front Only Printing
Paper : 14 PT. UV Coating on Front,
Rounded Corners : Yes
Proof : None
Ready to Ship In : 4 Business Days
*Giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above.
Seriously, 100 5x7 postcards?!!? How great is that! Especially with graduation season coming up. What better way to make out open house or graduation invites!?
Now on to the rules, don't worry there aren't many at all:
MANDATORY ENTRY- leave me a comment telling me what you would use your postcards for if you won (please include your email address so I can notify you if you win)
Bonus entries:
Follow me on Twitter @nikkimbt02 (let me know your username)
Follow PrintRunner on Twitter @PrintRunner (let me know your username)
I love to watch TV, and I am a huge fan of my direct tv package. I get everything I want for a price I can afford, which is awesome. Who cares if I like bad reality TV? Lately I have become obsessed with the new season of the Real World. I think I like it so much because the cast is so awesomely bad. I remember when I was younger I thought that the casts of The Real World seasons were so cool. A lot has changed in 15 years! Is it me, or have they gone from choosing young people with purpose and ambition, to choosing drunk college dropouts whose only interests are hooking up and looking hot? Whatever the case is, they’re a lot of fun to watch. One of my favorite things is watching them get drunk and fight. Who does that kind of stuff? I admit that I am glad I don’t have my early 20’s on tape, but I don’t think I was anywhere near their level of ineptitude. Hopefully when I have kids they won’t grow up to be like these idiots!
Well I just discovered a new site that will help me waste time online...Sneakpeeq!!!! For those of you who haven't heard of the site, its a cool little shopping site that features a bit of everything! I recently signed up for it, and discovered some cute jewelry, purses, and Puma clothes and shoes. Oh and did I mention that you can get it for up to 70% off retail price?!!?
I absolutely LOVE this Puma jacket!!! The retail price is $80, but the Sneakpeeq price is only $48!!! Oh and I forgot to mention that just for signing up you get a $10 credit, making the above jacket only $38!!! Love it!!
With sneakpeeq, you click on the products you like and they will show you the retail price. You then click on the "peeq for your price" button and it will tell you what you will end up paying (plus 5.95 shipping). You are allowed 20 "peeqs" per day, and they seem to add different shops quite frequently. It seriously is kind of addicting :).
So, if you are like me and LOVE shopping, I highly recommend checking them out today. All you need to do is click on the banner located towards the top of my blog and it will take you there. I should let you know that in order to become a member you need a Facebook page with the new "timeline" format. If you haven't already changed to timeline, you might as well do it because as of Feb. 2, they will all be automatically changed anyways.
When I moved last month it was such a relief to find clear tv bundle packages. Moving is so tough to begin with that it was just so nice to be able to get multiple home services from one company. I didn’t want to move, but my family needed more space, so I was left without a choice. I was not looking forward to all the extra work a move would entail. Life has become so fast-paced since having kids that sometimes I feel like everything is spinning out of control. If I’m notcooking and cleaning, I’m dropping the kids off at school, or taking one to a play date. I really underestimated how hard it was going to be to be a stay at home mom. I figured my life would become much less complicated, but boy, was I wrong! The kids and my husband are just so demanding that I forget to do important things all the time. It is really helpful to have my cable and internet consolidated into one monthly bill. Not only is it easier to send one payment, it’s much easier to track my money when I only have to send one payment.
I have recently been trying to read more books, and heard many of my co-workers talking about the book "Heaven is For Real" and had to check it out for myself!! "Heaven is For Real" is the true story of a four year old boy's trip to heaven. While on a family vacation, little Colton had become sick with what his parents thought was the flu. Doctor's at one hospital can't say what it IS, but they do rule out appendicitis. After a couple days of Colton not getting better, his parents decide to check him out of the hospital and take him to a different one to get a second opinion. There he is diagnosed with a ruptured appendix. A week later after having surgery, Colton is headed out of the hospital and is in the elevator when his doctor yells for his parents to stop. Colton's white blood count is up and it is found that he has three more abscesses which require more surgery. A few days later, the doctor tells the family there is nothing more he can do and refers them to a children's hospital, the only problem is there is a snow storm and the family is unable to leave. Somehow the next day Colton is recovering amazingly well and is soon discharged home for good. The hospital staff are without words. A few months later while riding in the car with his family, Colton starts talking about his trip to heaven. He tells his parents that he visited heaven while the doctor was working on him and could see his family praying for him. Throughout the next several months he begins to tell them more of his trip. He talks about meeting his great grandpa who had died 23 years before Colton was even born and also of the sister that his mother had miscarried. His family is speechless since they had never talked to Colton about either of these people, yet he knows many details about them. He also talks about Jesus, God's throne, the battle of good and evil, and what heaven is really like. He tells his dad that "nobody is old in heaven". While looking at various pictures of Jesus, he is able to tell his family what is wrong with each one of them.
Now for my opinion of the book. Let me start by saying that this book was written by Colton's father based on what Colton has told him. Yes, Colton's dad is a pastor. Therefore there are several passages from the bible that go along with what Colton has described to his father. It is also considered a true story. Obviously there are going to be people that think it isn't true, but I guess the only people that truly know are Colton and his family. If you are not a believer, then this is not the book for you. However, if you do believe there is a heaven, you will LOVE this book. It makes you feel good to know that when you leave this world, you will be reunited with loved ones and that they really are in a better place. I really enjoyed it myself! Highly recommended!!
I received this book in exchange for my HONEST opinion. I was not required to give a positive review, but I actually did enjoy it immensely!
So I have been HORRIBLE at watching movies lately. When I first joined Netflix I would watch a movie every weekend, so it was worth it for me to keep my subscription. The last two movies I have rented from there I have kept for almost 2 months EACH. So I basically could've bought the darn movies for cheaper than I paid to rent them. Oh well. I did finally get around to watching "The Social Network" though. I think I may be the last person in the country to see it, but I finally did. I'd have to say, I liked it pretty well too. It was actually one of those movies that while I was watching it I thought "yea I guess this is pretty good", but then after it was over and I thought about it more I thought "Wow that really was a great movie, I will definitely have to watch it again". Have you ever seen any movies like that?? I actually feel a little smarter after watching it too. It's kind of like that show "The Big Bang Theory", in the sense that I don't actually have a clue what they are talking about half the time, but if I can make it through it without getting too lost I give myself credit. Unlike "Jersey Shore", where I actually feel stupider after sitting through an entire eppy.
So for those of you who haven't seen it (if there actually IS anyone that fits that description), "The Social Network" is about the creation of Facebook. After breaking up with his girlfriend, Mark Zuckerberg decides to create a website called facemash.com.. In order to do this he hacks into various universities online facebooks to get the pics of the female students from. The site is all about comparing to female students and clicking on the one that is "hotter". Well after getting 22,000 hits in two hours, the network crashes and Mark is almost suspended from Harvard. He then is approached by three guys who want him to work on their site, a place where Harvard students could make their own page which contains their names, pics, relationship status, info, etc. Well Mark decides to expand on this idea all on his own and ends up creating "The Facebook". "The Facebook" is at first only open to Harvard students, but ends up expanding to other schools gradually. I should add of course that Mark founded this site with his best friend, Eduardo, who put up the money for the site to get going. Mark and Eduardo end up meeting with Sean Parker (the creator of Napster) and he becomes a partner too (much to Eduardo's chargin). Well eventually, the "The" is dropped and Facebook is up to one million members. Poor Eduardo ends up getting cut out of the ownership and Mark ends up getting sued by the guys that originally wanted to create the Harvard site and Eduardo. I won't spoil the entire movie, so I won't post how it ends.
It was a pretty great movie. Jesse Eisenberg does a great job and his sarcasm is pretty amusing. Andrew Garfield plays Eduardo, who is pretty amazing also. Sean Parker is played by Justin Timberlake, which actually made me hate JT for a while, but I guess that is just because he did an amazing job also. Great acting all around, I can DEFINITELY see why this movie and its cast were nominated for Oscars. If you actually haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it! Check out the clips below, one is the trailer, and the other is the confrontation between Mark and Eduardo.
Up next: Book review of "Heaven is For Real"!!! Check back soon!!
Well I am sure many of my blog readers have either been through college, are currently in college, or will be having children attending college in the near future. For those of us who have been through the lovely higher education experience, we all know of the extremely high cost of textbooks. Now luckily I had scholarships that covered the cost of all or almost all of my books, but not everyone does. I do remember going to the student book store and having them ring up all the prices of my books and being extremely glad that I didn't have to pay out of pocket for them. I always wished I could just rent the text books and return them when I was done with them. I kept the books that were related to my major, but I sure as heck didn't need to keep my algebra book, so I went and sold that baby right back as soon as the semester was over. Of course I didn't get nearly what I paid for it, but got a pretty decent amount. The books that they were giving me a decent amount for I just kept though. The book below would be one of those:
The list price is almost $150 and when I went to have them buy it back (in mint condition!), they were offering me $15. Seriously?!?! Are you kidding me! You are giving me 10% back of a perfectly good book. Um no thanks. So now six years after being out of college I am still stuck with this stupid book.
I really wish I had known about CampusBookRentals.com when I was in school. This is a website that allows you to rent books for either a semester, quarter, or summer (you can also enter the exact number of days you would need the book and they will give you a custom price). For example, I entered the name of the lovely book shown above and learned that I could have rented it for the semester (130 days), for $18.41!!!! Seriously?!?! That is 88% off the list price! Oh and did I mention that shipping is free BOTH ways! For those of us that like to highlight important points, that is allowed in these rented books also. How can you beat these prices...seriously?!
When I decide I want to pursue a different career and return to college, you can bet I will be renting my books from Campus Book Rentals. No more paying absurd amounts of money for books I won't use when I am done with the class. Oh and as an added bonus, they donate a portion of their proceeds to Operation Smile. For those who don't know, Operation Smile performs surgery on children who have a cleft lip, who otherwise wouldn't be able to afford it. So you are saving yourself a boatload of money and helping kids at the same time. How can you beat that?!
I was contacted to do this review, but would definitely use this site personally!
I love to travel and one place in the great United States that I have yet to be is Florida. Yes, seriously this Michigan gal has never been to the Sunshine State, but I plan on making that one of my near future trips. Oh and you can bet that when I do make it there I will most definitely be visiting Walt Disney World, whether I have children with me or not!
While I was searching for Hotels in Orlando, I came across the beautiful Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resort hotel. Seriously it looks so beautiful!!! Check out some of the pictures below and you will see what I mean.
This would be the outside of the hotel. So unique looking and a great view!!
Lobby of the Dolphin Hotel.
Lobby of the Swan Hotel
This is just one of the FIVE heated pools that is located at the resort. Absolutely gorgeous!!
Beautiful bar for the adults to visit.
One of the guestrooms. The beds look nice and comfy to me!!
Kids (and adults) would love to dine with their favorite Disney characters, which is also included in the resort.
Love it!!
Some other great features of the Swan and Dolphin Resort include tennis, basketball, and volleyball courts; a health club, which you can follow up with a trip to the relaxing spa; a game room for the kids; an art gallery and much more! Since it is a Disney resort, you also get complimentary scheduled transportation through the park and extra park hours!
Whenever I do make it to Orlando, you can bet I will be trying to get a room here!!
Hello lovely readers! If any of you are like me, you love a day at the casino every now and then. However, unless you live in Las Vegas, it isn’t always very convenient to get to one. Luckily though, you can do a little gambling (and hopefully lots of winning) from the convenience of your own home by visiting 52stars.com.
52 Stars contains a great variety of games, satisfying you no matter what your game of choice is. I personally love to play the slots, but they also have blackjack, poker, roulette, texas hold em (my fave!), etc. If card games or slots aren’t exactly your cup of tea, they also have various other games that have become favorites of internet gamers everywhere such as Bejeweled! Also, for all you comic book fans, Marvel has its own section of games including slots featuring the ever popular Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, and Thor! Currently there are over 160 games, with more added all the time. With this many games, there has got to be one for you!
So if you enjoy your casino trips, but can’t always get to one when you want to, visit 52stars.com now! Be sure you are 18 and over though please!
As a woman that works in the medical field, I am in constant need of nice, comfortable, affordable scrubs. I found just the thing at http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/Original-Scrubs/. At my job I have to wear Navy blue scrubs which they have among various other colors. I absolutely love the stitiching on the pockets and the fact that the tops actually look flattering on your body and are not "boxy" like some other scrub tops.
They also have tops and bottoms which are a little cheaper, but just as cute. They just don't feature the same stitching pattern as the ones above.
So, if you are like me and have to wear scubs for your job, I suggest you check Blue Sky Scrubs out now. They have uniforms for nurses, therapists, nursing assistants, doctors, etc. for both women and men at great prices!
*I was contacted to do this review. The opinions above are mine alone*
Time for another review of the great CSN Stores! CSN is amazing because you can find pretty much anything you are looking for there. Sometime in the very near future, I am hoping to get a LCD TV, therefore I will need a new LCD TV stand. Here are some of the lovely ones I found that I just love!
I like all the little storage areas with this one. Plenty of room for the DVD player, Wii and cable box.
Love the look of this one!
They also have many different fireplace TV stands which I just adore right now!
I will be looking at all my choices so when I do get my new TV I can get the perfect stand to go along with it :). Be sure to check out CSN for TV stands and anything else you may need!
Hello readers :). Sorry that this week's "Sick of them Saturday" was missing, but I didn't actually have time to type one up and believe it or not, no one really drove me crazy last week! Rest assured though, there will be one next week :). If you all remember, a few weeks ago I did a random review of the amazing vacuum I had bought. Turns out that is the most viewed post of my blog. When I searched for that vacuum using Google, my blog came up as one of the top results!! I couldn't believe it! So, I decided I would review another product that I love and that is Netflix for Wii.
A few months ago I decided that I would give Netflix a try. I figured paying $8.99 a month for as many movies that I wanted to see was a pretty good deal. Actually I wanted to get caught up on all the early seasons of "Deadliest Catch" since I recently became addicted to it, but hadn't seen the first few seasons. By joining NetFlix, I was able to get caught up on seasons 1-4 in about 2 months. So much cheaper than buying all the DVDs. The only catch with Netflix is that you only get one DVD out at a time, but as soon as you return it you get the next one on your list. Not bad!
When I joined Wii and filled out the shipping info, there was also a question asking if I owned a Wii or PS3. I own a Wii so I checked that box. When I got my first DVD, they also sent me a disc to play in the Wii. This disc, when played in the Wii, activates your Netflix account and allows you to watch the movies that you have on your list, or browse through selections and watch them instantly. I LOVE THIS!!! This is so handy for catching up on past seasons of TV shows especially. You can watch however many you want at a time and don't have to worry about waiting for them in the mail. Seriously LOVE IT!!!
Now the only problem with Netflix for Wii is you have to have your Wii connected to the internet. I didn't have this so I of course had to figure out how to do it. I looked it up online and found that all I needed was a Wii LAN Adapter and a Cat5 ethernet cable. Easy enough right? So I went to GameStop to see if they had the adapters. Luckily they did and it only cost me $20. Now all I needed was a Cat5 cable. I asked if they had that also and they did, but it was also $20. Now I had looked on Amazon and saw that I could get one from there for about $3 so I said no thank you to GameStop and left with the the adapter. When I got home I looked online at Amazon and found a 25 foot Cat5 cable for less than $2!! Ordered that right up and waited for it to come. Once it came I hooked it up to the LAN adapter and then connected the other end to the back of my cable modem. The only trouble I had was once I accessed the internet through the Wii and went to Netflix I was supposed to enter a code at the Netflix website while I was connected through the computer. I only have one spot on the back of my modem to hook up the internet so there was no way I could connect via computer and Wii. Luckily my mom was here with her laptop and she has wireless so I could access using hers and enter the code. After getting that done I was connected to Netflix and watching "Deadliest Catch" right through my Wii!!!
I highly recommend Netflix for Wii for anyone who needs to get caught up on their favorite TV shows, but doesn't really want to buy all the previous seasons and also for people who enjoy watching movies a lot. It is much cheaper than purchasing all the DVDs for TV shows that you really only want to see once or twice and also quicker than heading to the video store. If you would like to purchase the LAN adapter that I have used and therefore know it works, click HERE . For the 25 foot cable click HERE. You can also get longer or shorter cables if need be. Hope this was helpful!!!
(I was not compensated by NetFlix, Wii, or Amazon for this review)
Well I didn't have a post prepared for today and I wasn't too happy about that so I decided I would do a product review. I went to Walmart yesterday and bought the best vacuum I have ever used. It is the Bissell PowerGroom Pet Compact.
Let me give you a little reasoning why I am in love with this product so much. When I first moved into my apartment I went crazy shopping. I bought everything that I would ever need (I am pretty sure I have some things that I haven't even used yet and I've lived here for 4 years). While I bought a lot of stuff, I didn't want to spend a lot of money, being the frugal person that I am. So I bought myself a standard $50 Bissell vacuum from Walmart. Don't get me wrong, the vacuum works decent, only problem is I have two cats who feel the need to shed like crazy. The standard Bissell I had just wasn't up for the task. I knew I would need a pet hair vacuum, I just didnt want to shell out the $150-$500 they wanted for them. Last Christmas I got the handheld Bissell pet hair remover for furniture and it worked AMAZING! So I finally gave in and decided that maybe shelling out the big bucks was worth it if it actually worked. Well I went to Walmart this past weekend and found the Bissell PowerGroom Pet Compact. This is basically just a smaller version of the Pet Hair Eraser that they make and the best part is that it is very affordable. The price on the box said 78.88 but when I scanned it, it came up for $69.00!
So I get it home and tear open the box. First thing I notice is the size. It is smaller than my old one, so I will have to empty the canister more often, but not a big deal at all. It was extremely easy to assemble. All I had to do was screw the handle on and put all the attachments in their places. Took all of about 5 minutes. It also is very light so if you have stairs it won't be a pain to drag up or down. Another feature I love is that it came with an attachment that you can use on the furniture that basically does just a good of job as the handheld vac that I have. So now that my vacuum is assembled it was time to use it. I vacuumed my living room and hallway where the litter box is and was AMAZED at how much it picked up. LOOK:
That is just from vacuuming ONE time. I can't believe how much my old vacuum was missing! This vaccum has a little lint roller on the bottom that sticks to the hair when you pull it back and then when you push forward it releases the hair and lets it get sucked up. Now I can sit on my floor and not have half of a cat on me when I stand up! I HIGHLY recommend this product. Great price, works AMAZING (as you can see), and it is small enough to store without taking up much space. (Bissell is NOT paying me to review this product by the way). If you are looking for a pet vacuum, but don't have a lot of money to spend on one, this is the product you need. I got mine at Walmart and haven't actually seen them in any other stores, but you could always check online too!
On a side note, I also attempted to organize the top shelf of my coat closet too. I live in an apartment so I don't have a ton of storage space so basically eveything that I don't have a place for ends up in the coat closet.
BEFORE
AFTER
Still WAY too much stuff, but at least now everything is somewhat organized and I won't knock 25 things down when I try to get a lightbulb!
