Raising a well-mannered child series at Go Graham Go!

Go Graham Go is hosting a series on raising a well-mannered child! There will be guest posts from women who have all been in our situations! There will also be some great companies sponsoring useful giveaways and ideas! You should check it out! I will be there!

Adulthood. Help.

When my husband and I got married, our single friends started to fade away, as our lifestyle changed. Then we we had our daughter, those friends went away completely. Our single friends were in a different place. We had to do "kid friendly" things... like not stay up all night drinking and playing pool, sleeping in on weekends... you know, how it goes. We were responsible now!

We moved to a new town when our daughter was a year old. Finding friends with kids is hard work. I really feel like I am actually hitting on another mom when trying to set up a play date. Finding a couple with kids that both my husband and I like is even harder!

Through some time, we finally found a perfect couple that we both like, and I met up with the mom and kids. Suddenly, while the kids were playing with others in a play area, kids started screaming, and come to find out, her kids were biting.... and there was blood. Although my daughter was not involved, it freaked me out to say the least. Their punishment after that was a bag of candy. Great.

This is how things seem to work out for me. (I know, I am so very positive...haha)

We do have some great neighbors though. The neighbors that live by us are great married couples. In fact, we all sat in our driveway and talked for hours today. The sunshine was out, and it was a beautiful day. I am really blessed to have such witty and fun neighbors!

Then my daughter woke up from her nap, and they seemed to scatter like flies. Yeah, you guessed it- my fun neighbors don't have any kids.

So, as you can see, I am still stuck in the same boat here. We have lived where we are now, for almost 3 years, and still don't have any friends that are parents. How exactly do you find these people? I would love to hear some ideas from my readers! Is there a place moms hang out that I don't know about?

Great jewelry at Chunky Bling!

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I love their selection of chunky jewelry!

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Bling will even set the site up for you! This would be so much fun!

Our Cell Phone Plan Is Up!

Our cell phone plan is finally up, after a 4 year contract. I am thrilled, because our current provider is horrible. We always get the cheap-o phones that break every 3 months, our calls are always dropped, and we never have reception at our house. We really don't live that far in the sticks, m-kay?

I just came across some cell phone plans, and realized I am probably in over my head! I learned that most people are paying way too much for cell phone service. Which, I can totally agree, since for the last 4 years I have practically been paying for a service I can only use sometimes... great.

I found Billshrink.com, which is a free service that helps people lower all sorts of bills. It was started by a family man that was going thru the same thing I am, trying to find a new cell phone plan. Confused and frustrated with all the options, he turned to his computer, and started this site. They save people an average of $1500! Sweet! They even alert you when they can save you even more money! I am all over this!

Since that seems to be right up my alley, I had to check out the cell phone plans at Billshrink.com are completely customized for me (and you, of course!) right down to how many texts I use in a day! I can use my current cell phone, choose exactly how many minutes I want, choose how many lines I need, or I can completely analyze my current cell phone bill! Sweet! I love companies that take all the hard work and do it for you!

They sort through almost 10 million cell phone plans to find you a great deal! Billshrink.com offers a wide variety of phones, too, including Sprint phones, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.

Great Artwork and an upcoming Giveaway!

So, my mother in law retired a few years ago. She was a ballet teacher, which was awesome, and I really think that Katelyn has somehow inherited some of her dancing skills... haha!

She now is channeling her artistic ability into artwork, and I think it is pretty awesome! You can check out some of her goodies at texasheritageart.com You really have to see some of these in person to really appreciate them! They are so intricate and full of depth!

What do you think? I think that I like it so much, that we will be doing a future giveaway soon! Is there anything in particular that you would like to see? She is currently painting my daughter a personalized picture for her room, and I will show you when I get it! Stay tuned!

Changing the look...

I am changing some things up around here..... somehow my look around here got really boring... haha! I want some pretty colors and a hint of warmer weather! Are the colors too bright? Do they hurt your eyes? heheheee...

If you have a blog and would like your button on here, let me know! It seems I have a good amount of room left over!

Freebies

Today only! You can sample Peeled snacks at Starbucks today!

Enter here for a trip to bora bora, and they will send you a free Bora Bora Organic snack bar!

If you own your own business, you can get some free cleaning goodies here.

Click here to try the new pampers diapers from Sam's club.

You can get up to 6 free beauty samples from Salcura here.

If you eat Jennie-O turkey like me, you can go here, register, and print a mail in rebate for your purchase!

Go here to get a free Texas Tornados key chain!

Laundry issues? You can try out the new Purex 3-in-1 here.

Heading to the bookstore? You can print a coupon here for a free coffee at Border's!

If you are a member of P&G everyday solutions, you can get new samples in the mail!

Click here for a free recycled notepad from Sandy Paper!

First aid kits are always great to have- get one here for free, from Kettering Health Network!

Traveling? Go to Walmart's website, and get a free sample of Olay body wash!

While you are there, pick up some others..... Benefiber Underjams or Tide

Here you can get a free sport poster!

Sign up with Beechnut here, and you can get free toddler's food!

Need pictures? You can get a free character collage from Sears portrait studio here.

.... or a free 8 x 10 from the picture people

Want to try great tasting diet food? Click here and you can try a s'mores bar from South Beach living!

Do you have a Bahama breeze close to you? You can get a free $10 gift card here.

Click here and share the new axe video, and you can get a free Axe cleaner!

ENJOY!

Auto Insurance....

Finding great auto insurance is tough! I have been comparing auto insurance quotes now for over 2 months now, and I feel like I am getting nowhere!

With me being as frugal, well, downright cheap, as I am, I am having a hard time forking over a huge bill for expensive auto insurance! I want to find the best deal! I found some auto insurance quotes here, and it is helping quite a bit!

I finally have gone over my 3-year mark with no traffic violations, wrecks, or anything else of the sort, but it is still a really high rate for me.... Thing is, you gotta have car insurance I am pretty sure that you could lose your license to drive completely without it... and you have to have it for things like updating your tags, getting inspections, paying in case some nut drives into you... you know, stuff....

found a great website, autoinsurancecenter.com, that lists the actual auto insurance laws, which are always a great thing to know!

So, with that said, do you have any advice for me? And no, that is NOT my bugati, but a girl can dream, right?

It snowed yesterday.

I don't have a picture, because, well, it was snowing..... and I hate cold weather.

This is the third time this year that we got snow. Yesterday the snowflakes were over 1 inch wide, which was pretty awesome, for a second, and then my fingers went numb! I live in the south because I like it HOT! snow, not so much.

I have no idea how people survive living somewhere where it is cold.... Do you have any advice for me because it is really hard to type here when I am wearing mittens!! haha!

I've never in my life dreamt of sunburns, mosquitoes, kiddie pools, white sandy beaches and humidity so much in my life before! Oh, and pina coladas made with coconut milk...... ah.....

How is the weather where you live? How do you cope with this cold weather? I could really use all the advice possible... I am freezing!

Putumayo - Rhythm & Blues CD- Review and Giveaway!

CLOSED!

For those of you that don't know me very well, I am from Louisiana, and I appreciate some great music... I am always looking for some great music to relax to! ... or clean, fish, drive, etc. to ...

I found Putumayo World Music - and they just released a Rhythm and blues CD and was delighted! I am loving it! I feel like I am walking around in the french quarter!

Putumayo has found some great artists of rhythm and blues and put them together in a great CD! One of my favorite songs on the CD is "Wang Dang Doodle" by Sam Moore, Keb' Mo' and Angie Stone- and was produced by Randy Jackson! (from American Idol)

The generous folks from E1 Music Canada have offered a giveaway for readers of One Frugal Lady!

With that said, I will keep it simple-

Mandatory entry- Just visit Putumayo World Music, and let me know your favorite track from this CD!

For additional entries-

1.) Tell me another CD you would love to have from Putumayo World Music! ( +1)

2.) Sign up with Putumayo World Music's e-mail list (+2)

3.) Tell me your favorite type of music! ( +1)

4.) Follow me via google friend connect ( +2)

5.) Subscribe to one frugal lady via e-mail ( +2)

6.) Leave a comment on any other blog post (+1 per comment)

Please leave a comment for each entry! Contest will end March 2!

disclosure: I was given for free this product for the purpose of reviewing it. I did not receive monetary compensation and all thoughts and opinions are mine. Open to U.S.

Freebies!

Click here to print out a coupon for a free LED flashlight- good at Harbor freight!

Here is a sample of fekkai hair care.

Fill out this survey, and you will get a coupon in the mail for a free excedrin product- great for next week at walgreens ( excedrin will be $2.50, and you get back $2 in RR)

Print out this coupon and get a free Hallmark card in store.

Here is a free sample of youth eye complex. heavenly.

Free coffee? yes, of course! Here is the link for a free sample of berres brothers coffee- use promo code 21RR

Here is the link to order a free yard sign, plus free shipping, just add what you want it to say under "additional info" at checkout! I got a garage sale sign!

Click here for a sample of Crest whitestrips.

Click here and send a card to yourself, with some free yogi tea!

Here you can get an underjams sample- well, one underwear.

Here you can get a sample of burt's bees toothpaste!

Print this coupon, head to JcPenney's and get a free 10-day supply of Bare escentuals!

At Procter and gamble, you can get a tide sample, and more.

Print this out, and bring to your aveda store for an awesome color conserve sample!

Every day at noon, you can sign up to get a uni-ball pen! 2 per household.

Snoring problem? Here is a sample of breathe right strips.

ENJOY!

Win $5,000 from Lushae Jewelry!

Would you love to win $5000? I know I would. That would be pretty sweet. A new boat sweet.... Okay, so here is the deal, click on my link at the bottom, and you can put any of the buttons from Lashae jewelry on your blog, facebook, myspace, you can even tweet it for a chance to win. You put the button up once, and you are entered every month that it is up! Seems simple enough, huh?

Here is the information from the site:

Enter our online sweepstakes competition for the chance to win $5000 cash (to spend anywhere you like). Simply display one of our jewelry badges on your blog, website or social profile page and be automatically entered each and every month. The sweepstake giveaway is open to all countries. We will also draw $200 monthly to a random winner.

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If you have any more questions, or just need some help with this, just leave a message in the comment section! Good luck!

Frugal tips- food edition

I love food. really. But sometimes stuffing your face can be expensive. Here are some of my tips on saving some cash...

1- prepare your own food. I am sure I don't have to tell you that cooking at home is way cheaper than eating out.... that is pretty simple. In fact, I only eat out once a month. I hate paying for food at a restaurant, I am only renting the food.... what a waste. You save more with the more work you have to do. You even pay more for someone else to chop your food at the grocery store.

2- grow your own fruit and veggies- Did you know that typically you get back 10 folds of what you put into your garden? So say, you pay $1 for broccoli to plant, and you will get $10 worth of broccoli? I just read that somewhere, but I think it is more. Of course, you have to work at it. The food taste so much better, and you will appreciate your "babies"

3-Use coupons! Obviously, I love coupons.... I watch for sales and go to Kroger, where they double and triple my coupons. I am that lady who scours the clearance section at the stores. The other day, I found new york strips marked down to $8, and I had a $10 coupon sent to me from Kroger. Sweet. It is as if they paid me to take it...

4- Don't make your kids their own food. I used to make my daughter her own food because she was a picky eater (and yes, it was totally the opposite. She would only eat veggies. weird, huh?) I was not only spending so much time making her a separate dinner, but also spending more money in the long run. After a few times of saying, "This is all we are having for dinner, eat it, or go to bed hungry" She got the hint. Now, she eats everything and I save money.

5- Only cook what you need to. I had a major problem with this one. I only made food in huge portions- the problem is, we don't have 20 people in my house, and alot of it would get thrown out. Of course once a week we have leftovers, you can only eat left overs so many times before you are bored, right? Just make enough for what you need. Besides, you probably will cut back on how much you are eating, which is pretty awesome.

Do you have any frugal tips to share? I would love to hear how you save!

Want proof that anyone can use coupons?

My husband went to the grocery store for me today, since I am hating this cold weather. I was a little worried that he may go over our budget, but when I say what all

he got a the store, I was amazed! He even got healthy food for me, organic bread, and lots of veggies. Because of all that, I didn't care all that much that he also got some junk food and beer for himself, but whatever....

He got a ton of groceries, it was $180, and after, it was just under $70! wow. I am totally taking credit for his new coupon fascination! He ended up paying less than a dollar for each item! I think I know who is going to the grocery store from now on! haha!

Frugal tips- bills edition

I figured I would share some of my frugal tips, but to do that, I will have to break it down into different categories. So here are some of my favorite frugal tips when it comes to bills. When I say bills, I have to tell you, these are the necessities to me. There are no way around them.

m-kay?! Here are my basic monthly bills-

Electricity- I know some people keep the thermostat at summer temperatures during the winter and vice-verse. I don't. I am freezing my butt off, but I don't gasp for air when I get my electric bill. So, ha! I keep my thermostat at 63 during the winter, and at 85 during the summer. I love it hot. Fans work great too.

Satellite,cable, etc.- I love the television. In fact, I love the "I can take a freakin' shower if I leave my kids watching it" idea as well. I know I am sick. In fact, I went all out and got about 800 channels on satellite just for noggin. (they don't have commercials, and play preschool appropriate shows 24 hours a day) Well, if you have a young child, then you must know that noggin is long gone now...

I don't have 800 channels anymore. I have 500, for $20 a month. I can't argue with that. I called my satellite company to cancel, and they told me if I call every 6 months, that I can keep my rate. sweet. My couch will never go into with drawls again! whoo-hoo! Survivor here I come!

Car payments- I used to have some really beautiful and expensive cars. ah, then I traded them in for kids! haha! I think good looking cars are like good looking shoes. They are not very practical, with kids, that is. Unless I win the lottery tomorrow, or some hot shot car maker is reading this, there is no way I am going to buy a top of the line mom car for my kids to destroy with cheerios and milk slung everywhere. I have a decent car, and it is only a few years old. It seats 5. I get 35 miles to a gallon. In fact, my husband got a car. for $200. cash. It gets even better gas mileage. That's how I roll.

water- I won't even lie to you on this one. I use a ton of water in the summer. I love green grass. I love kiddie pools. But things you can change are leaky faucets. My kitchen sink was leaking for a few months, and when it was fixed, my water bill went down $8 a month. That is about $100 a year I could be spending somewhere else. I know it isn't much, but hey, I am trying to cover all the basics here.

Phone- I don't have an option where I live, so I don't have a land line anymore. I hate that there was no competition so the rates are through the roof. We have cell phones. We are on a family plan, and talk to each other for free. After a certain time, we get free minutes, then we can call others. I do like to have a cell phone in case of an emergency though. We pay about $60 between my husband and me.

Groceries- If you have ever eaten at my house then you know how cheap I am when it comes to food. No, we don't eat crackers or anything. In fact, I cook A TON of food for each meal actually. But when someone who is eating at my house says something like "you didn't have to feed me steaks tonight." or " you made a pie? What is the occasion?" I have to tell them that most of my food is practically free. I always cook from scratch, and I save a ton. Plus the food taste way better, and I know what goes in it. I know that a loaf of bread is only a few bucks, but do you have any idea how much bread I could make at home with a few bucks? yea. it goes alot further!

Hope this helps- and I will have some other frugal tips on different topics coming up soon!

My tips for around the house....

I love a clean house. I really do. In fact, when my house is clean I am much happier.

The problem is, when you have kids, it is really hard to keep the house perfectly clean all the time, because, you know, you have to feed them, and let them play with stuff, and so forth... hehe... although I don't allow kid toys in my kitchen, my bedroom, living room or dining room, some have said that toy bins work great. I just don't like toys. there, I said it. big whoop. My kids are perfectly happy playing in THEIR bedroom or the playroom, thankyouverymuch!

Want to freak me out? Call and tell me you are on your way to my house, and I have 20 minutes.....

Works every time.

A few things I always do before someone comes over, no matter the condition of my house....

1- clear off all visible counter space. I have even hidden items in the oven. Yeah, I don't even want to hear it.

2- empty all trash cans. simple. trash looks like trash.

3- put dirty dishes in the dishwasher. for the love of God, it should be done immediately, but hey, we are only human, right?!

4- wipe down mirror, toilet and counter in guest bathroom.

5- sweep main areas where guests will be. Plus a clean floor to the bathroom.

6- This is for my "freebies in my mailbox friends" - stack it up nicely. or hide all your loot in your bedroom...

I do these things in about 10 minutes before anyone arrives at my house. In fact, if you catch me on a good day, I do them first thing when I wake up. Just in case....

Computers make me crazy....

Alright, so yesterday, I was checking my e-mail and I am not sure what happened, but the screen went black and a sign came up that said "oh, snap! we cannot process this information." The computer shut down and completely locked me out. The problem is, I am so fed up with my cheap computer, that this was the last straw... at that moment, I wanted to rip the computer up in a million pieces and sell it for scrap metal.. no, really.

Well, obviously, since I am writing this, I didn't.

Instead, when I re-booted the computer, (which, by the way sounded like a spaceship from the George Jetson's cartoon ) my mouse did not work. Trying to operate a computer with no mouse is not cool.

I went to the electronics store today, and got myself a new mouse. I also picked up some ram for my computer. I don't exactly know what ram is... but apparently, the employee in the computer section says I totally need a new computer. This will work for the time being.

When I got home and hooked up my new stuff, my keyboard did not work. Great.

My neighbor, who happens to be the nerdiest person in the world had to come over and check it all out.... and here we are 7 hours later. yah. that's how I roll. I am so computer- illiterate. Although I am pretty sure that it is mostly user error.

Anywho, I am trying to stick to my promise of posting almost every day. Just thought you should know why I haven't been. haha! Surely I am not the only person that lacks basic computer skills though.....

UPDATE- Oh my God. Someone up there must have been feelin' my frustration about computers, because I just won a mbook pocket PC from mommin' it up! I am so excited!!! whoo-hoo!!!

Go SAINTS!

Yes, the saints won the super bowl... .

That's right. I am so excited for them!!

Who dat? Who dat? Who dat say dey gunna beat them Saints?

Free Oreos!

A few weeks ago, there was a promotion with Oreos, that if you become a fan on facebook, you can get free oreos. Of course I signed up, and in fact, they sent me 4 coupons for free oreos!

Even better, I found tear pads at the grocery store (I was at walmart) that if you buy oreos, you get a free box of oreos cakesters!

I just got 4 bags of oreos and 4 boxes of oreo cakesters for free!

YUM!

OH, walmart also had Roma tomatoes and avocados for .25 cents a pound! score! We are SO having guacamole tomorrow for the game!

The sunshine finally came out today!

..... not that it was all that warm or anything..... so of course we went fishing! Caught a few great size catfish, and I have to say, Katelyn is getting mighty good at casting her fishing pole out! She will be ready to fish in the spring for sure!

I am pretty pumped up about the game this weekend! Unfortunately, I must have married the only man in the world that doesn't love football..... he actually changes the channel when I am watching a game.... But it's all good- someone has to grill the food anyways! Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! I am sure I will leave a post about the game soon! WHO DAT? WHO DAT?

Kidcraft Nantucket bookcase- a review

I am a bargain hunter. all the way. In fact, I have been shopping online lately, because I find great deals online, and I don't even have to pay for gas in my car... or put on pants... haha!

I have been looking for a bookcase that won't break the bank for my daughter's room. If you know my 3 year old, then you know that she would rather have books over toys. Unfortunately, on my quest to find a great bookcase, I was really let down because of the high prices. Then I found CSN.com and I was in heaven! For what, you say? CSN has over 200 stores to shop from! They carry everything you could imagine, from baby strollers, to cookware, to kitchen faucets, and every thing in between! I was so amazed! When I stumbled upon the Kidcraft Nantucket bookcase, I was hesitant, because the price was decent... I was worried about the quality. Boy, was I shocked! My order went thru on a Friday, and was at my house on Monday, which is really awesome! The box was small, and I was worried once again....

My husband put the bookcase together in about 20 minutes and it came with some awesome instructions even a monkey could read. Awesome again. It even included a safety chain that can be attached to the wall.

Once the bookcase was put together, my daughter immediately wanted to add her books, and once again, I was surprised by the number of books it held! I love this bookcase because it holds some of her taller books that usually don't fit in a typical bookcase.

All in all, my daughter loves her new bookcase, and at under $54, I am happy as well! If you are interested in this bookcase, check it out here.

disclosure: I was given for free this product for the purpose of reviewing it. I did not receive monetary compensation and all thoughts and opinions are mine.

Lowe's

So, a few months ago, I signed up for a free subscription to weight watchers magazine. Inside, there was a coupon for $10 off a Brita faucet filter(Lowe's coupon). I stopped by Lowe's today, to check out their plants and found the Brita filter for $15. After the coupon, I paid $5 and there is a $5 mail in rebate found on the package! Sweet!

What else did I find? In the middle of an aisle, I found a huge box that was ripped apart. Inside, was a massive garage storage cabinet. I asked an employee if it was marked down, and a manager told me I could have it for $20. I went to check out how much it was regular price, and it was $378!! Wow! Of course I got it... haha!

I will update later with a picture once it is put together!

Anyone else find any great deals lately?