Aspiring Photographer: Colorado Wild Flowers

Colorado has some beautiful wild flowers. There is nothing more awe-inspiring than hiking coming to a mountain meadow in full bloom. I love trying to capture that perfect picture of the wild flowers.

How to...Save Money at the Grocery Store (No Coupons Necessary)

Save money at the Grocery Store...Without Using Coupons!

I'm a working mom, so I don't have a ton of time to spend looking through ads looking for coupons. I do want to save as much as I can at the grocery store. I have come up with three things that I do (almost every week) that saves me money.

1. Look at the Store Ads online to see what is on sale. Click the links that follow and enter your zip code for the specials near you: Albertsons, King Soopers, Kroger, Price Chopper, Publix, Safeway Weekly Savings, Schnucks, Shop-n-Save, Shop Rite, Tom Thumb, Vons

2. Plan a menu for the whole week (based on what is on sale) and make your grocery list. I mostly stick to meals that are fast and easy to make, so I use my tried and true recipes...you know, the ones you grew up eating and know by heart. If you want something different, or need some help planning a menu, Once a Month Mom posts menus for a month at a time. $5 dinners has some great inexpensive recipes (hence the name), and on Mondays, she publishes her weekly menu.

3. Pay cash for all your groceries.
This may sound crazy to you, but try it. It's so easy to swipe that credit card or debit card, without even thinking about what you are spending; however, if you are standing in line with nothing but cash, you suddenly become very aware of every item in the cart and what you are paying for it. Remember that bag of chocolate chips, which wasn't on sale or on your list? Baking cookies doesn't seem quite so important (Newsflash! paying cash also helps your waistline!). Paying cash helps you stick to your list, but you also need to compare the per unit prices. Sometimes buying in bulk isn't the best deal...and the goal is to spend as little as possible, right?

Great Offer: Travel Deals Part 2

I just got an email from Northwest Airlines with some great airfares! Thought I'd share.

Northwest Airlines (Delta) Fall Fare Sale
Stretch Summer...not your wallet. Now's the time to book with Northwest and Delta's Fall Fare Sale.
This is for both US Domestic and International travel.

Sample each-way airfares* (roundtrip required) between select cities+

• Detroit - Orlando, Fla. $64
• Minneapolis/St. Paul - Fort Lauderdale, Fla. $89
• Minneapolis/St. Paul - Seattle $114
• Memphis, Tenn. - New Orleans $129
• New York, JFK - London, Heathrow $189
• Detroit - Frankfurt, Germany $269
• Los Angeles - Sydney, Australia $329
• Atlanta - Santiago, Chile $429

Want more details?

Tasty Treat: Poppyseed Chicken Recipe

POPPYSEED CHICKEN

The first time I ever had this recipe was our first night home from the hospital with Baby Boy. My boss at the time prepared this and brought it over (what a lifesaver!). I love this recipe because it is super easy to make and doesn't take a lot of prep time. It's a great last minute meal. Thanks for the recipe, Jill!

PREP TIME 15 Min
READY IN 20-25 Min
SERVINGS 4-6 Servings

INGREDIENTS

• 16 oz Sour Cream (I use Light)
  
• 2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup (I use Light)
  
• Poppyseeds
• 4-5 Chicken breasts cooked & diced (I use 2 cans of all white meat chicken)
• Roll of Ritz crackers (I use Reduced Fat)
  
• 3/4 stick of butter (I use Light)
  

DIRECTIONS

Combine soup and sour cream. Add cooked, diced chicken. Blend in desired amount of poppyseeds (I probably use around 2 Tbsp). Crush Ritz crackers in ziplock bag. Melt butter and pour into crackers. Shake to mix. Top casserole with Ritz mixture. Bake in 350 F oven 20-25 minutes until edges are bubbly hot. Serve over rice or noodles. Enjoy!

Great Offer: Travel Deals

Southwest Airlines: It's on! Great Travel Deals for Fall!
Purchase by July 30, 2009 for travel August 18 through November 18, 2009. Travel valid only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Saturdays. Tickets start as low as $49 each way. For more info and other great deals, click here.

Tip: I know this is a little more than Frontier's special right now, but make sure you do a comparison and account for the checked bag fees.

1 week to save: Fly Frontier from Colorado--tickets starting at $34 (each way)
Frontier turned Colorado Day into Colorado Week (and to think I didn't even know there was a Colorado Day!) .

1 week to buy. 5 months to fly. but you must book by August 5.
Travel is valid through January 15, 2010. Ticket prices vary by city. Get more details now!

49 hour sale by CheapCarribbean
Deal of the Day!
49 Hour $49 (per person). All Inclusive Super Sale
Up to 70% Off Caribbean and Mexico beachfront resorts. Get more details now!

Deals on Car Rentals.
Car Rentals From $9.89/Day

Save Up To 40%!

Learn more!

Great Offers: Monster Sale at Children's Place

Children's Place is having a "Monster Sale." You can get up to 40% off of select styles, and some of the spring styles are less that $1.99. Plus, if you are on their mailing list (sign up in the store), you may have a coupon to get an additional 15-20% off.



I personally love the Children's Place. I think their clothes hold up well, and they have great sales. If I am going to splurge and pay full price for something, it is from here. Baby Boy's Christmas and Easter outfits were from the Children's Place.

Chit Chat: The Things Kids Do

Baby boy is at that age where he loves to explore...everything! He also likes to show us how strong he is. He walks up to everything and tries to shake it...chairs, tables, a large glass jug sitting on a brick fireplace. You name it, he wants to shake it. There are some days that he spends more time shaking his Little Tikes swing set, than he does sliding and playing on it.

Well, I didn't think anything of this until one day last week while dropping him off at daycare. He started shaking the play kitchen in his class room. His teacher proceeded to tell me that this was common behavior for him. She said she tells him, "Baby Boy, you can not shake the kitchen because it could fall on one of your friends and hurt them. You don't want to hurt your friends, do you?" Then she said, Baby Boy will walk away from the kitchen and play with something else. After a few minutes (or seconds), he will get up, walk over to her, and give her legs a big hug. Then he walks right back to the play kitchen and starts shaking it, she said.

I chuckled at this determination Baby Boy has, because we have seen this in several circumstances at home.

Tonight, it was while I was trying to unload, and then load the dishwasher. Baby boy wanted to explore the silverware. I would tell him he needed to put it back away, and help him put it wher it belonged. He would walk up hug my legs, and head right back to the silverware.

It is as if he has determined that by giving a hug, it makes the naughty behavior all A-OK. Boy, they figure things out young!

Great Offer: Free Groceries from Kraft

Kraft's Free Grocery Promotion--Valid 8/7-8/23.


Purchase $25 of participating items and get: $5 off your next purchase & $20 via mail-in rebate *OFFER VALID: 8/7/09 - 8/23/09. All purchases must be made in a single transaction. Coupon for $5 will print at register valid on your next shopping trip. Coupon expires 2 weeks after date of purchase. Limit one $5 coupon per transaction. $20 rebate form will print at register. Cash register receipt must be dated between 8/7/09 - 8/23/09. Allow 6-8 weeks for shipment of rebate check. Limit one rebate per address/household. Offer ends 8/23/09. For more information, click the image above, or visit the Kraft website.


Pack A Kraft Smile With Back To School Savings!

Look for your year-long Savings Booklet in store and register at Nabisco.com for great back-to-school savings.

How to...Create an Online Scrapbook

I like taking pictures. I like being able to display those pictures in a creative way. Online scrapbooks are a fast and easy way to share your photos and videos. Smilebox is one of my favorite tools to use. It is super easy, and you can share it anywhere. It is free; however, you do have to have a paid subscription to print it, or to share it without advertisements.

Since you can post videos in your Smilebox, it is a great way for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins to see what your little one has been up to recently.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

How to make a Smilebox Scrapbook

1. Go to Smilebox.com and create an account.
2. Install the software.
3. On Step 1 Choose, scroll down the the Design Catalog and choose Scrapbooks.
4. Find a design you like.
5. Now you are on Step 2 Personalize. Smilebox will often pull your most recently saved pictures into the Photo Selection Box (on the left side of the screen). If the photos you wish to use are not there, add them by clicking on the Add Photos button.
6. Once you are finished adding your photo's, it is time to get started creating your scrapbook.
   The right hand side is where you customize your pages.
   




• Select your music for your scrapbook.
• Choose the layout for each of your photos.
• Choose your background.
• Choose your embellishment level.
• Choose the page title
• Customize any text.










7. Once you have finished creating all of your pages, save your work. By clicking the Save button.
8. Click on Step 3 Preview, and preview your scrapbook. Make sure everything looks the way you want it to. Check for typo's.




9. Once you are satisfied with your scrapbook, click on Step 4 Share, Print, or DVD.