Great American Cookies: Free Cookie in October

Not only can you get a free cookie at Mrs. Fields tomorrow (October 1st), but you can also get a free cookie at Great American Cookies in October! Yum - cookies!

Anyone who signs up for Great American Cookies' e-mail fan club "CookiE-mail" online will automatically receive an e-mail coupon good for one free regular Original Chocolate Chip cookie. The company is also saying "thanks" to fans that already belong to CookiE-mail by sending them a coupon good for one free regular Original Chocolate Chip cookie on October 1.

Marsh Supermarket Deals - Week of 10/1/09 - 10/7/09

There are a few things that Marsh has on sale this week. You can check out their full ad here. I only highlighted a few items.

Now these sale prices are based on you using your Fresh Idea card. Don't have one? No need to worry, just stop by the front office on your way into the store. Also, you may want to check out their internet coupon policy before heading out. They do double coupons up to $.50, everything over is face value. You will also want to link your Fresh Idea card to UPromise and to Fresh Ideas for Education (points go to your school for your purchases).

One Day Meat Sale - Saturday, October 3rd
Fresh Ground Beef $1.18 lb (limit 10 lbs)
Cook's Ham $0.88 lb
Whole Boneless Pork Loin $1.38 lb

All Week Deals
Pork Spareribs $0.98 lb
Aunt Millie's Bread or Buns $0.99
Idaho Potatoes 10lb bag $1.97

Bob Evans Fresh Sausage $2.50
-$1.00/1 8-23-09 SS
Final Price: $1.50

Kraft American Cheese Singles $1.00 each wyb 3

Children's Place: Fall Sale Additional 30% Off (+15% today)

The Children's Place is having their Fall Sale with an additional 30% off. Shipping is a flat fee of $5. Use PARENTING99 to save an additional 15% today. They've got some great prices on t-shirts (long sleeve and short) and shorts; however, they are very limited on sizes.

In addition, you can make your purchase through Ebates to earn 3% back on your purchase, 4% back if you shop through Upromise, or 3% through Mr. Rebate. Who doesn't like earning money back on their purchases?

Event: Free Night of Theater 2009

FREE NIGHT OF THEATER 2009

Launches in Over 120 Cities Across the Country on October 15!

Tickets are being offered, in most areas, to performances from October 15th through October 31st and can be reserved beginning October 1st, but every location is different so be sure to check the here for details and participating cities/theaters.

For the locals, there aren't any shows in Dayton this year...but there are a few in Cincinnati.

Mrs. Fields: Free Cookie - Thursday, October 1, 2009

October is National Cookie Month and what better way to celebrate than with a FREE cookie from participating Mrs. Fields stores. Stop in your local Mrs. Fields store on Thursday, October 1, 2009 from 11:00am - 1:00pm to receive your free cookie.

Event: The Great Pumpkin Event @ The Knack - Saturday, October 10, 2009

On Saturday, October 10, 2009 from 10:00am - 1:00pm The Knack at Michaels will be hosting a Family Event - The Great Pumpkin Event. Bring the whole family in to create your own craft pumpkin. The event costs $5 and includes supplies.

Chick-fil-a: Join the Wave, Get a Coupon

Have you joined the wave yet? If not, join the wave and you will get a coupon for a free medium Coca-Cola Zero plus be entered to win a $50 gift card.

Event: Toys R Us "Geoffrey's Birthday Party" - Saturday, September 26, 2009

Come to Geoffrey's Birthday Party atToys R Us on Saturday September 26, 2009 from 12:00pm until 3:00 pm. Enjoy fun birthday parades, great activities and free giveaways. Click here to find a Toys R Us near you.

Weight Watcher's Weigh In - Catch Up

It’s been a while since I reported my weigh ins. They haven’t been the greatest but here they are (week ending):

August 29 +1.8
September 5 +1.6
September 12 -1.2
September 19 +0.8

Which sums up to be a gain of 3 pounds over the last month. It’s not where I wanted to be or the direction I wanted to be headed. I’m not going to sit here and give you excuses. I’m going to leave these couple weeks behind me and move on. It’s like being on the track team and jumping hurdles. When the gun goes off and you race to the first hurdle, some make it over and keep going then there are those that fall. They don’t stay there to be trampled on by the next runner. They get up and keep going. Well, that’s me. I’ve fallen out of my weight loss zone for a few weeks but it’s not time to get back on track.

One thing that I’ve really slacked on over the past couple weeks is journaling. I’m making myself a promise: If I bite it, I will write it! Many times I will just take a taste of something and not write it because I don’t know the point value or “it wasn’t much, it won’t matter”. Oh yeah it does matter. My overall eating habits and choice of foods isn’t bad. I’m made a LOT of progress over the past 6 months. My sweet tooth…we’ll I don’t know what happened to that – it’s gone! I haven’t really craved any candy bars, ice creams, cake…nothing.

The other area that I need to really work on is exercise. I know I can put out 100 reasons as to why I don’t workout and they all go back to time. I know that I have 10 minutes here or 10 minutes there…it’s just finding it. To start off, my sister is going to meet me 2-3 days a week on my lunch hour to walk. We have an exercise area set up in our garage. I just need to get myself motivated to find the time to get out there an use the stuff even if it means getting up at 4:15 instead of 4:30 or going to bed at 10:45 versus 10:15.

I don’t have much more than that… I haven’t made my way any closer to running a 5K like I had hoped to do by now. I’m going to get there though.

How have you been doing on your weight loss journey? What do you do to pick yourself up, if you fall off track?


Weight Watcher Weight Loss (Updated on Saturday)

Goal #5	40
Weight Loss (since 3/11/09)	-31.8

Frito Lay Tailgating Kit Giveaway!

The contest has ended! Congratulations Bombtastic Belle!

I love football season! You normally wouldn’t find me in front of the television – it’s not my thing. However, during football season that’s exactly where you will find me! We even have put a television on the patio so I can enjoy the weather while I’m watching (or at least until it gets cold then we will move it into the garage). What’s football without a good tailgating party?!?! Whether we are at home, a friends or at a game, we love us a good tailgating party – food, drinks and a little corn hole!

As we gear up for Sunday’s game (Go Steelers!), I had a thought – what can I make that’s tasty but healthier than the traditional wings and loaded nachos? We know few people go to tailgate parties for the veggie – it’s definitely a time to indulge and enjoy. But it doesn’t have to be a total eating catastrophe. At Frito-Lay, they have portion control sizes make it easy to enjoy all your favorite treats – in moderation. The quickest way to transform a tailgating recipe is to use fat free sour cream and/or fat free cream cheese, lean turkey instead of ground beef, and fat free refried beans instead of regular ones. That’s exactly what I did to make our new favs.

Here’s my recipe:
1 – 1 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cans fat free/sodium free chicken broth
2 pkgs fat free cream cheese
1 bottle Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce
1 bag Baked Tostitos Scoops

Add chicken and chicken broth to crockpot. Cook on high for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken from crockpot and discard chicken broth. Shred chicken breasts and place back into the crockpot. Add cream cheese and buffalo sauce - mix. You will only want to add the amount of buffalo sauce that you can handle. We like ours hot and spicy so we add almost the whole jar (actually, I think last time we did use the whole jar). Make sure crockpot is on low. Enjoy with Baked Tostitos Scoops!

Another favorite:
1 can fat free refried beans
1 jar small jar salsa
1 pkg shredded cheese (usually a cheese blend or 2% mild cheddar)
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 bag Baked Doritos

Brown ground turkey. Drain grease and add other ingredients. Cook until heated and cheese is melted. Enjoy with Baked Doritos.

Overall, fewer penalties, better tailgating...

I want to hear the better-for-you recipes you plan to have at your next tailgate party or game-watching event. There is one requirement: all recipes MUST include Frito-Lay products. What’s in it for you? You could win you’re very own: Frito Lay Tailgating Kit (worth $50!). It’s equipped with Frito Lay products, a foot”bowl” to serve your better-for-you recipe in, and a gift card for purchasing your ingredients.


To Enter:
1) Leave a comment with your better-for-you recipe that contains or uses Frito Lay products.
2) Blog about this contest (come back and leave a link to your post) – you MUST have entered via #1 method to be eligible for the second entry

Contest ends Sunday, September 27, 2009 at 4:15pm – the start of my game: Steelers @ Bengals. Winner will be chosen by random.org.

What's there to eat?

The last two weeks have been very busy; therefore, I didn’t menu plan. I did have an idea of what we would have for dinner or at least what was available. It’s worked for us. We’ve only ate dinner out once a week which is what we plan for each week.

This week I had my menu ready but didn't get it posted for Menu Plan Monday so here it is as What's there to eat?!?! I get that line from my kids quite often - more than you would imagine.

This week should be pretty normal. We are in a routine with school back in session and the almost-every-night football practices. I’m hoping to prep all or most of the food prior to the work week starting.

This week I’m planning my breakfast and lunches for the work week as well as our dinners. A couple weeks ago, I wrote about changing my eating schedule to every 2-3 hours and making sure I eat breakfast rather than just drink it (my Iced Cappucino addiction). This worked – my hunger levels were balanced. I’m no longer starved when I walk in the door from work. I’ve also been trying to rid myself of my Iced Cappucino addiction.

Breakfast

1. Special K Blueberry cereal, Fat Free/Skim Milk, banana
2. Egg white omelet w/mushrooms, peppers and onions, ¾ cup strawberries
3. Special K Protein Meal Bar – Chocolate Peanut Butter (2x)
4. Whole Wheat Bagel with Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese


Lunch (includes my afternoon snack)
1. Garden salad w/Light Honey Mustard, Progresso Light Santa Fe Style Chicken Soup, 1 ½ cup Strawberries, Fiber One Key Lime Pie Yogurt, Sugar Free Fat Free Dark Chocolate Pudding
2. Turkey Sandwich, 1 ½ cup strawberries, 1 cup grapes, Fiber One Strawberry yogurt, Special K Chocolatey Pretzel Cereal Bar
3. Chicken Flatbread, 1 cup pineapple, 1 ½ cup strawberries, Dannon Banana Yogurt, Sugar Free Fat Free Dark Chocolate Pudding
4. Turkey Sandwich, Soup, 1 ½ cups strawberries, Fiber One Key Lime Pie Yogurt, Sugar Free Fat Free Dark Chocolate Pudding

Dinner

1. Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken, mashed potatoes, Broccoli, grilled pineapples
2. Cheeseburgers and/or hot dogs, fries
3. Crockpot Santa Fe Chicken
4. Seasame Grilled Chicken, Rice, Salad
5. BBQ Pork Sandwiches, cole slaw

Coupon Inserts for 9/27/09

There will be 3 inserts being in your paper this Sunday - September 27, 2009. They are a Red Plum, P&G, and Smart Source.

Remember that when you purchase your paper from the store, you are not guaranteed coupon inserts. I would check each paper before purchasing multiples. Or save money and trees, purchase only the coupons you need at The Coupon Clippers.

Meijer Super Saturday Sale - 9/19/09

Meijer is having a Super Saturday Sale on September 19, 2009. Here are the deals that I saw. You can view the full ad here.

For the locals, if you have the $5.00 off $25.00 purchase coupon from the other day. You'll need to take it along with you.

Center Cut Boneless Half Pork Loin $1.39 lb
Bob Evans Fresh Pork Rolled Sausage $1.89 ($0.25/1 8-23-09 SS)
Betty Crocker Fruit by the Foot, Roll-ups, Stickerz or Gushers $1.50 ($1.00/3 8-9-09 GM, $.50/2 8-9-09 GM)
Chiquita Bananas $.29 lb
Lay's Potato Chips $1.89
ALL Liquid Laundry Detergent $3.00 ($1.00/1 8-2-09 RP)
Dial Liquid Hand Soap $0.99 ($0.35/1 8-16-09 SS)
Meijer Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, Frozen $3.99
Johnsonville Bratwurst or Italian Pork Sausage $2.79 ($1.00/2 9-13-09 SS)
Bush's Baked or Grillin' Beans $1.25
Aunt Millies' Honey Hot Dog or Hamburger Buns Buy 1, Get 2 Free ($0.35/1 5-10-09 RP)
Meijer Natural Cheese Slices $1.39
Sunshine Cheez-It $1.88
John Morell Sliced Bacon $1.79
Eckrich Smok-y Links $1.79
Meijer Pretzels $0.95
Tostitos $1.88
Keebler Town House Crackers $1.88
McCormich GrillMates Seasongs, Black Pepper, or Grinders $1.00

Coupon Inserts for 9/20/09

There is the possibility of 2 inserts being in your paper this Sunday - September 20, 2009. They are a Red Plum and Smart Source.

Remember that when you purchase your paper from the store, you are not guaranteed coupon inserts. I would check each paper before purchasing multiples. Or save money and trees, purchase only the coupons you need at The Coupon Clippers.

The Knack @ Michaels - American Girl Free Event - Saturday, September 19,2009

On Saturday, September 19, 2009 from 10:00am - 1:00pm The Knack at Michaels will be hosting a FREE Family Events - American Girl. Every girl can make her own gifts inspired by American Girl books. While supplies last. US Stores only.

For the Locals: $5 off $30 Purchase Meijer Coupon

On the back page of the first section (page A14) of the Dayton Daily News is a $5 off $30 purchase coupon for Meijer. The coupon is valid until Saturday, September 19, 2009.

Pair this with the Kraft deal - Buy 5 or more of the listed ad items, get $5 off instantly at the register this week (9-13-09 to 9-26-09) for some great deals.. Items must be purchased in a single transaction - note that you are limited to 1 offer per transaction. Don't forget about the Nabisco/Kraft Back to School Mail-in-Rebate.

Never Forget!

Event: Lowe's Build & Grow Clinic - Saturday, September 12,2009

Lowe's Build & Grow Clinics will be making a drum on Saturday, September 12, 2009 from 10:00am-11:00pm. You can read my previous post about these clinics here.

Cold Stone Creamery - Free 3 oz Creation - September 24, 2009

Who doesn't love FREE ice cream?!? On September 24th from 5 p.m. to 8p.m. you can get a FREE 30z. size (like it) creation. The catch is that the FREE creation is the new creation created to help support the Make-A-Wish Foundation - Jack's Creation. Click here to find a participating location near you or for more information.

Event: Thomas & Friends Playdate @ Toys R Us - September 12, 2009

If you have a Thomas & Friends fan in your household, you might want to stop bu your local Toys R Us store on Saturday, September 12, 2009 between 11:00am and 1:00pm. They will be having storytime, coloring fun & Thomas Trivia! Plus, get a free Thomas Trading Card Holder. There will be great giveaways and quantities are limited. Click here to find a store near you that is participating and for more information.

Carvel Ice Cream: Free Oreo Lil' Rounder - September 24, 2009

Ok, I couldn't pass up sharing this one with you. Yum!

On September 24, 2009, you can enjoy a FREE Oreo Lil' Rounder from Carvel Ice Cream. This event takes place from 3:00pm - 7:00pm. Click here to find a location near you.

Advanced Auto Parts: $10 off $25 Purchase Coupon

Click here to enter the Advanced Auto Parts Grand Opening Sweepstakes (chance to win a $1000 AAP Gift Card) You will get a $10 off $25 purchase coupon good at Advance Auto Parts!!

Coupon Inserts for 9/13/09

There is the possibility of 5 inserts being in your paper this Sunday - September 13, 2009. They are a 2 Red Plum and 3 Smart Source.

Remember that when you purchase your paper from the store, you are not guaranteed coupon inserts. I would check each paper before purchasing multiples. Or save money and trees, purchase only the coupons you need at The Coupon Clippers.

Target: Fiber One Deal - Week of 9/6/09

Purchase 5 Fiber One items, Get a $5 Target Gift Card includes Cereal or 5-ct Bars.

Buy 5 Fiber One Cereals @ $2.50 each
5 x $2.50 = $12.50
- (5) $1.00/1 Target General Mills Cereal printables (Expires 9-12-09)
- (5)$1.00/1 8-23-09 SS
= $2.50 + Receive $5 Target Gift Card

Of if you are like me and don't care for the cereal, you can always use the coupons from your free sample or coupons.com (left side bar) or here to work the deal with the bars. It's not as good of a deal but it's worth it if you like the bars.

Meijer 3 Day Sale - September 5-7, 2009

Meijer is having a 3 day sale - Saturday, September 5 - Monday, September 7, 2009. Here are the deals that I saw. You can view the full ad here.

2 liter A&W Root Beer, 7-Up, RC Cola, or Sunkist $.69 (Limit 4)

Sargento String Cheese 1/2 Price ($1.00/2 8-9-09 SS)

Aunt Millies Homestyle Buttermilk or Cracked Wheat Bread B1G2 (use 3 $.35/1 8-16-09 or 5-10-09 RP)

Potatoes 10lbs $1.69

Edy's Ice Cream $1.99

Meijer Boneless Skinless Chicken 40oz - $3.99

Meijer Pork Back Ribs $2.99/lb

Dial 3pk Bar Soap $1.50 ($.35/1 8-16-09 SS)

Reminder: No Coupon Inserts - 9/6/09

Just a reminder that there will not be any coupons in the Sunday, September 6, 2009 newspaper due to the Labor Day holiday. However, you can purchase coupons that you need at The Coupon Clippers.

FREE Chick-fil-A on Labor Day

Did you hear about the FREE Chick-fil-A on Labor Day (starting @ 10:30am to close)? In case you didn't, visit their site here to learn more! All you have to do is visit a participating location and wear a logo from your favorite sports team to get a free chicken sandwich. No coupon required!

IKEA: Kids Eat Free Labor Day Weekend

Kids Eat Free at IKEA on September 5-7, 2009. Children 12 years and younger can eat free, choosing from any three kid-sized items to create a meal valued at $2.49. Choices include five meatballs, mac 'n cheese, PBJ sandwich, kids yogurt, two cookies, chocolate milk, and more. No adult purchase necessary! (Dine-in only; child must be present to receive offer.)