FREE iTunes Holdiay Sampler

iTunes is allowing you to download their Holiday Sampler for FREE! There are 20 tracks - that's right, 20 FREE tracks - by artists such as Amy Grant, Lady Antebellum, Weezer, Barry Manilow, Sarah McLachlan and many more, but hurry because this offer ends on December 17th!

If you don't have iTunes, you can download it here. You can find the Holiday Sampler icon on the iTunes Store homepage with a yellow, "FREE" tab on the top-right corner. Enjoy!

12 Days of Whataburger

Whataburger knows what's up! In the spirit of giving this holiday season, Whataburger is celebrating the "12 days of Whataburger" by giving away one FREE ITEM every other day through Christmas Eve. Redeem this coupon on Wednesday, December 16th for one FREE TAQUITO. December 16th is day 8 of 12, so I'm a little behind, but better late than never, right?

No matter where you live, I'm sure you can find some hungry homeless people on a corner near you. How fun would it be to print off multiple coupons and pass them out on your way to/from work? The answer is "SO FUN!" I like to give stuff to the homeless people with creative signs. For example, I would totally give a coupon to someone holding a sign that says "I bet you can't hit me with a quarter." If I saw that sign, I would make a paper airplane out of my coupon, tape a quarter to it, aim for the milk crate he's sitting on, and fire. Pure bliss I tell you, pure bliss.

Bingo, Hockey and Turkey, Oh My!

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last blogged. What has gotten into me? A lot has happened, but there are two events I'd like to reminisce. I went to Shreveport with Kristen and Katelyn, and I went to Austin for Thanksgiving. We had such a great time visiting our Great Aunt Ann and playing bingo with her and her friends! You can read all about the rest of our trip on Kristen's blog.

While in Austin, I went to a hockey game with my parents and good friend, Sean, enjoyed some great conversation and laughter with friends from high school, and ate a delicious and not-so-nutritious Thanksgiving meal with my parents and Jessica's in-laws. My dad got tickets to the Texas Stars hockey game (owned by the Dallas Stars) from a guy who used to work with him. It was $1 hot dog and $2 beer night, can it get any better? Yes, because we also saw a fight and a shoot out.

Aren't they so cute?! I just can't get enough of them...

I also got to hang out with my good friends from high school, Jordan and Jennifer. We went to a local coffee shop, Motzart's, to catch up, talk about life and laugh. I'm a fan of constant laughter in conversation, so I can always count on a good time with these two! After coffee, we went to Barnes and Noble to get Jenn a book. While there, Jordan and I tried to convince her to buy a new favorite book, Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea. Let me warn you before you take my advice and buy this book for yourself. Chelsea Handler is completely inappropriate and vulgar. I think she's hilarious, but someone like my mom would be appalled that Chelsea Handler would be allowed to talk the way she does on her hit show, Chelsea Lately. Jenn passed on the book, but I decided to buy it the next week at Target for 30% off, so she'll get to borrow it over Christmas! Holler.

We also spent Thanksgiving day with Jessica's in-laws, the Conquests. Kristen, Dave and Katelyn were spending time with Dave's family in Waco, and Thanksgiving would be lame with 3 people, so we were thankful for the invite from the Conquests. Jessica volunteered my dad to carve the turkey. Why would she do that when my dad has no idea how to carve a turkey? I assured him that it would be okay and directed him to this YouTube video. He totally owned that turkey and fooled everyone into thinking this was his 100th time to carve a turkey.

Since we didn't have Thanksgiving leftovers, I made the easiest meal ever for dinner on Friday night. It's called something like Beefy Cheesy Ravioli and Kristen sent me the recipe. I also made my mom's favorite salad with cranberries, apples and walnuts. Even Evan liked the meal and he is a super picky eater!

That's all I've got. We are going on a cruise next Thursday, but hopefully you'll hear from me again before we leave.

Let the Games Continue..

I last blogged about the adventures of the pine cone in July, and the story ended with the original pine cone in my dad's possession. After 3 months of waiting, the story continues. Two weeks ago, my parents took some time off from work to visit friends and family and made a stop in Dallas Friday night. I headed over to Kristen and Dave's Saturday morning for some much needed family time and laughter. I got in my car to head home and noticed some brown things in my seat. I took a closer look and realized they were pine cone remnants. My dad was standing in the drive way waving, with a big smile on his face. I said, "Dad... I feel like there may be a pine cone in here." To which he responded, "Huh?" I looked in my console. Jackpot. I found the pine cone. I held it up and smiled.

That night, I went over to Bonnie's house to get ready for a Halloween party. I grabbed my make-up bag and headed towards a mirror. I opened my bag and found another pine cone, the original one. I laughed.

The next day, I went to the gym and was about to put my sunglasses in their rightful place before I headed in. I looked up and saw another pine cone. Is he serious?

I called my dad.

Me: Dad! I found another pine cone!

Dad: How many is that?

Me: What do you mean how many is that? I've found three.

Dad: Keep looking.

Me: WHAT?!

I grabbed my ID card from the cup holder and walked inside. When I came back out to my car, I put my ID card back where I got it, but this time I saw something I hadn't noticed before. I saw that there was something inside the clip of my work badge. What in the world? It was the world's smallest pine cone...

It's been almost a year since the pine cone made its debut. This Christmas will be filled with more excitement and quite possibly more pine cones. I'm thinking it may be time to assign this pine cone a name. The star of a game that's this fun must have a name. Any ideas?

Frugal Friday!

Thursday, November 12th: My colleague (and now friend), Michael, introduced me to some sweet money saving websites after he learned of my love for great deals. The websites are similar in content, but one is better organized and I choose to plug that website. Spoofee strives to provide consumers with the best deals everyday. 7 For All Mankind jeans for 40% off? Yes please! Restaurant.com 80% off coupon? Absolutely! I was hanging out with Kristen and Dave tonight and told them about the steal at restaurant.com. It seemed too good to be true. Too good to be true, because you can already get a $25 gift card at Restaurant.com for $10 without a discount code. Dave mentioned that he had gotten some gift certificates from Restaurant.com before and reassured me that it was a pretty good deal. You basically get more food for the same price you would typically pay for dinner for two. You may be thinking, "How does it work?" Let me explain. Restaurant.com helps restaurant owners promote the new and unique aspects of their restaurants while providing diners with great value in a fun, new and cost effective way. Local restaurant owners entice you with cheap gift certificates and hope that you will visit more than once. I wanted to try it out and realized this would be the best time. I refined my search to restaurants in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. After browsing 21 pages of featured restaurants, I settled on two gift cards. I bought one $25 gift card to Maestro's and one $25 gift certificate to Sweet Basil. One piece of advice: Make sure you read the restrictions before you purchase. For example, here are my restrictions for the certificates that I purchased: The certificates are only valid on dine-in service, tax and gratuities are not included and 18% gratuity is added. I have to spend at least $35 at Maestro's and at least $50 at Sweet Basil. No problem! I feel a girl's night coming on... So how much did this cost me? I paid a whopping $4.50 for $50 worth of gift certificates! Are you kidding me? How is this legal? Is this legit? Yes, yes, it is! I read the terms and agreements to be sure. Try it out!

Original price: $50.00. My price: $4.50. Total Savings: $45.50 or 91%.

I Love Real Simple.

I love Real Simple magazine and for the past couple of years, I have gifted myself with it for Christmas. They typically have a buy one get one free around Christmas and I like to buy one for my sister and gift myself with the free one. Anyways, aside from the recipes, my favorite section of the magazine is the "New Uses for Old Things" section. Here are some of my favorites:

A giveaway shower cap becomes the perfect wrapper for shoes when traveling, preventing them from dirtying clothes packed in your suitcase.

Make no-mess pancakes with the help of a ketchup bottle: Pour in batter, then squeeze out precise portions.

No more worries of camisoles and sundresses slipping off hangers when you wrap the ends with rubber bands.

Give Easter eggs a year-round use (and save on resealable bags) by filling them with snacks like crackers or Cheerios.

At a party, stash ice in a colander set on top of a bucket or a bowl. Water will drain out, and guests will get only the solid stuff.

$1 Meal at Boston Market - THIS WEEK ONLY!

October 26th has been declared UNFry Day by KFC. Boston Market would like to celebrate with you on this day and every day because at Boston Market, every day is Unfried. In honor of this occasion, Boston Market has a delicious deal - a $1 Real Chicken Meal Deal. Real Chicken, Real Goodness, Really Just a Dollar.

Present the coupon below and enjoy their special offer featuring your choice of a quarter white or 3-piece dark chicken, mashed potatoes and cornbread. Hurry! This great value is available for one week only. (Monday, October 26 - November 1, 2009).