ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL

The mailman was so good to me today! Amongst the starbucks cards & survey cheque was my artscow.com photobook and let me tell you it is absolutely gorgeous!

I love this book. It is absolutely beautiful and so customizable. I swear (honest to goodness) that there must be well over 250 different backgrounds that you can choose. You have options for layouts galore. It truly is the most customizable photobook that I have ever had the pleasure of creating. While I love every single photobook that I have ever created (with models like mine how could I not)... this is honestly my favorite. I have others that are beautifully put together but this takes the cake. Leave it to me to take a picture of pictures... lol. And well here are my absolute favorite pages(Cover picture shown to the left):


This book, believe it or not, was only $11.99! For a similar book through other well known photo sites would cost well over $40. Pretty gosh darn amazing eh? Well for this price you absolutely cannot go wrong.

The bad news is that artscow is no longer giving free photobooks when you open an account.. the good news is that I have 10 codes for free books that I can share with my blog readers. Each code is unique and can only be used once. I will keep the list updated as they are used. The coupon codes expire September 4th and are as follows:

ZZ9WN4X
ZFDC9WB
ZWZWALT
ZTMZNW4
ZFYYNJA
ZVEH8US
ZMAD6E8
Z52PT2L
Z66NW41
ZA8EDLC

These codes will net you a free photobook with shipping rate of $11.99.

www.artscow.com

I strongly urge you to order a book and see the amazing quality for yourself. They make great presents for friends & family, wedding albums, baby albums, just having fun albums (my personal favorite). I will definitely be making more (and will most likely be using a code or 2 myself! LOL.)

The Righteous Men - A Review

The Righteous Men by Sam Bourne

I picked this book up on Clearance at Chapters for $6.99. Whenever you pick up a book on clearance you take a chance. Surely there's a reason that this book is marked down. This book went above and beyond my wildest expectations. It was quite honestly the best book that I've read in a long time. Through the many twists and turns this book kept me up late night after night. Friday night I read until 12:30 am and decided to call it quits for the night; only to lie in bed for a minute and get up to finish the book as I just couldn't wait until the next day to find out what happened.

Excerpt from the cover.

"Two murders at opposite ends of America, one in the backstreets of New York, the other in the backwoods of Montana. A series of killings in every corner of the globe, from the crowded slums of India to the pristine beaches of Cape Town. There can't possibly be a connection.

That's the instinct of Will Monroe, a young, British-born reporter on the New York Times - until the morning his beautiful wife, Beth, is kidnapped. Holding her are men who seem ready to kill without hesitation.

Desperate, Will follows a trail that leads to a mysterious sect right on his own doorstep - fervent followers of one of mankind's oldest faiths. He will have to break through multiple layers of mythicism and ancient prophecy, unearthing riddles buried deep in the Bible - until he finds the secret that is said to have animated the world for thousands of years, a secret on which the fate of humanity may depend. But with more murders by the hour, and each clue wrapped in layers of code time is running out... "

While this book is fiction it is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition. The lamad vav (The Righteous Men) are taken directly from Jewish folklore. The Author Sam Bourne delves deeply into the Jewish world of traditions and gives us all an insight into a culture that many of us are unfamiliar with. This book has opened my eyes up to a religion that I have never sat down and studied. Bourne has taken an ancient legend and brought it into our generation. I love it!

The characters are memorable and easy to connect to. I particularly love the character TC (Will Monroe's ex) who is helping to decode the mystery surrounding Beth's disappearance. There is an amazing huge twist in chapter 41 that will floor you. (I don't want to tell you too much as I want you to be as surprised as I was.)

One of the most fascinating parts of the book in the folklore behind the lamad vav (The Righteous Men). I love the thought that there are 36 people in the world who are good beyond all belief. They are hidden and do their great deeds in secret so as not to draw attention to themselves. Some of them are sinners, some of them are regular men, some of them are well off. But they all do remarkable things for others without thinking about it. The world sure would be a lot better off if there were more people who put the thoughts and feelings and well being of others before their own selves.

The theory is that at any given time there are 36 Righteous Men spread across the world, when one dies another comes to be. However, a loop-hole (of sorts) has been found enabling all 36 Righteous Men to be murdered. A race against the clock ensues to prevent all 36 Righteous Men from being wiped out and the inevitable end of the world.

This book while completely on the other end of the spectrum from Jeannette Walls 'The Glass Castle' still has the same feel good vibes about it. I felt positive about the human race after reading this book. I am intrigued by the culture of the Hasidic Community of Crown Heights and will be doing more research about the community, the folklore and traditions of their people. A definite must read if you're in the market for a new book.

Saving Money... shop online

I am a huge advocate for online shopping. With the rising cost of gas driving more then we have to is insane. Especially with more and more online retailers offering free shipping or flat rate shipping. Toys R Us is a great example. They have a flat rate shipping of $5.95 for most items. There is no way that I could drive there and back for that. And the biggest plus? I don't have to drag the kiddos all the way there, fight with them throughout the store, and then listen to them complaining the entire way home that they didn't get this and that.

An added plus to shopping online are the perks that you get from signing up to certain sites. My personal favorite is Great Canadian Rebates.

Intrigued? Sign Up Here (<--- My personal referral link - hint hint nudge nudge!)

And yes while you earn cashbcak on your purchases there are also many opportunities to earn cashola without a purchase. Sign up for a free account with snapfish or shutterfly and get cash back on your first order. The sweet thing is that these sites offer you free prints just for signing up.

Shutterfly offers cash back $6.50 and you get 50 free prints and a free 11x14 print! When you put in your order be sure to order 51 prints to get your cashback.

Snapfish has a cash back offer of $6.50 and get 20 free prints. When you put in your order order 21 prints. Pay for 1 print and shipping and the rest is money in your pocket.

Great Canadian Rebates offers 2 options for payout. Paypal or cheque. Payments are sent every 2 months. I have been very fortunate and have earned a grand total of $176.92 in a little over a year (and no not just from shopping).

My favorite site to shop through is Yves Rocher who offer an amazing 10.5% cash back option! If you're looking for a great massage oil I highly recommend the Stress Relieving Massage Oil with Organic Eucalyptus. It is heavenly.

Other shopping options include:

Chapters, LandsEnd, Canadian Tire. There's even an option to receive 16% on Chatelaine Magaine with first time subscriptions!

Another opportunity for earning rewards for your online shopping is remembering to link through Airmiles. We don't use our Airmiles card with much frequency so getting those couple extra airmiles for online shopping are worth it. Generally you earn 1 airmile for every $20 spent. They do have some store options that aren't available through GreatCanadianRebates so be sure to have a look and weigh your options to see where you'll get the most bang for your buck. For my shopping habits and free money options I find GreatCanadian works best for me.

Happy shopping all!

Suburban Sandbox

Welcome to suburbia yall! The newest fad, Suburban Sandboxes!

And yes, I am completely joking! The girls couldn't wait for us to move the sand we collected up Harrison West into the sandbox so they hopped on in. Me being the picture happy Mommy that I am snapped a couple of pics. This one is my fave.

Bouquet to Superstore

Usually you'll find me ranting and raving about substandard customer service, or the frustration (and elevation at getting things for free) of things not being priced correctly. Well this post would have started off with a huge rant... but has ended extremely well, and I am so impressed with Superstore that they now have a customer for life.

Last Friday (the 11th) I headed into Superstore to pick up our 2 weeks worth of groceries. On the way through the till I realized that in my haste to buy the smallest package of Turkey Cutlets I also grabbed a package that was priced at $45.88/kg! Good golly Miss Molly. They were incorrectly labeled/tagged as Boneless Skinless Turkey Breast. So I headed up to Customer Service. 20 agonizing minutes later I finally had to head back to the meat department and correctly price the meat myself (don't even get me started on the price checker) and then calculate my own cost. By the time I got home my frozen foods were un-frozen, my deli meat was slimy and totally off, and the chocolate milk I bought as a treat for the kids (with my $1.50 off coupon to boot) was warm and also tasted off. Frustrated but excited to go camping I threw the stuff in the freezer and headed out of town.

Monday came and I was still frustrated so I called Superstore headoffice and they apologized and advised me to call the store manager. I did and boy am I happy that I made that decision! He offered to refund me the cost of the items, plus give me new ones next time I was in store.

So I headed in store today and he kept his word. I walked out of the store with $72.89 worth of groceries and $39.06 in my pocket extra. The cost of the spoiled food was $46.07, used $8.14 in Superbucks, $0.50 in coupons (must have been a really really off day-only 50cents in coupons?!?), and then $11.67 in product returns (2 no name products that we very much disliked and overpriced laundry soap).

Because I couldn't resist here is a picture of my haul. For everyone out there who's sitting there thinking "my golly its a bunch of junk(food)" well you're right. However, if you have a look at the post below you will see its definitely not the norm! And I did round our purchases off today with Apples, Oranges, Grapes, Bananas, Zucchini, Broccoli & Milk.

I always hear horror stories about the lack of customer service, definitely miles away from the service I've received today. Woohoo!

Food always tastes better when its free.

Don't You Hate It...

WARNING! Un-precedented act of bravery.

Don't you hate it when people post before & after pictures where the before pictures are the absolute worst they can find? And the after pictures are so wonderfully staged that the difference is hard to believe? Well this isn't one of those situations. This is honest to goodness what I looked like last year before my weightloss (and they're actually pictures that I feel like I still look good in, not the absolute worst example), and what I'm looking like currently. I still have some weight to go, and having days like the last 2 make it hard, but I am making serious progress. The difference in weight is in the range of 35 pounds. And as I am short even 10 pounds makes a huge difference.

Before

Now

Bah Humbug

Feeling rather blah these days. The mail person/truck dropped off my mail super early today. First day that I haven't gotten a bunch of junk and bills. So that's a huge plus... in my overflowing box was: Prize from the Frugal Gift that Keeps on Giving Contest (yeehaw! if you haven't entered July's enter here), 2 Olay Sun Charm bracelets by Foxy Originals, Butterflies & Lullabies order. No bills.

Usually the arrival of my mail would be a pick me up, however, my hands and wrists are killing me and I haven't got the energy to do much of anything today. Yesterday was worse, and I dragged myself around cleaning the floors and both the bathrooms upstairs, and the kitchen. I just don't have the drive to do so today. I still have no answers as to what's going on with me, but I do have another appointment next month. Hopefully I'll get some answers soon. They have narrowed it down to Rheumatoid Arthritis or Fibromyalgia. Fibro makes a lot of sense as I have more symptoms then just the pain & hyper sensitivity, one of which is not too pleasant, but I won't bore you with it.

It also makes a lot of sense as mold exposure can bring it on. And as most of you know my Strata left me and my family living in a mold contaminated home for over a year and a half. I informed them in 2007 that the mold was having a detrimental effect on my health and that I would like testing done. At that point I had been suffering from severe constant Migraines for 6 months. Finally a year later after under the guidance of my doctor I got the Health Unit Involved. By that time I had extreme pain in my joints, hyper sensitivity, ibs, weakness and couldn't get out of bed somedays. They finally took care of the mold probem (the counts were more then double what is considered the highest level of safe exposure). Since the ozonation my migraines have subsided, however the other ailments still linger. I have good days and bad days, and unfortunately the last 2 have been bad days. Hopefully tomorrow is better.

On the plus side... I called Starbucks regarding some horrible coffee we got on Tuesday and they are sending out a card to replace our beverages... and I called Bluewater who is replacing some horribly mushy fish we had for supper last night. And Sunday I need to go to Superstore to get a refund for some items that were destroyed due to incompetance of the Customer Service & price checking boy. So that's a huge plus!

Its days like this though that make me so thankful for music. It keeps me going. I love my new Zune. Is so much more then I ever expected. It brings a smile to my face, and I thank both Matchstick and Microsoft for giving me the opportunity to share this product with my friends and family. I have thoroughly enjoyed this campaign and have introduced so many people to the Zune. Some of which have been just as enthused as me! I cannot wait to see what other amazing campaings Matchstick has up their sleeves in the near future.

Save Your Money!

As most of you know I love saving money. Why on earth would you pay full price for something if you don't have to? LOL.. anyway. One of my secret weapons against overpriced merchandise are online communities. The folks over at RedFlagDeals are among the best (if not the best) at coming up with the absolute best deals around. If you have a chance I strongly urge you to head over there and have a look for yourself. Everything from hotdeals to contests to freebies and an entire thread dedicated to save.ca coupons! Its a Bargain Hunting Mommy paradise!

My fave deals are of course the ones that I get for free, or almost free. Very recently there was a link to a save.ca Gillette Fusion $10 coupon! Insane I know. I ordered it up and headed over to Superstore. Found a razor for $9.99 and went through the till. Handed in my coupon. But (and its a huge BUT!)... the razor scanned in at the wrong price. $14.99 instead of the shelf price. Headed over to Customer Service and alas! I ended up with a SCOP (scanning code of practice) and got a free razor and an extra $10 off my grocery bill.
Can't get better then that!

So if you're searching for a great deal, or even just a tad little bit curious head on over. You won't be disappointed! http://www.redflagdeals.com/

Lucky Rabbit Foot!

After a very dry June my contesting luck has improved substantially! This week has been absolutely amazing!

My haul looks something like this:

• July 7/08 - CocaCola 7Eleven Contest. Won a 591mL Coca-Cola Product ARV $1.59
• July 9/08 - CocaCola 7Eleven Contest. Won a 591mL Coca-Cola Product ARV $1.59
• July9/08 - Logitech Liberate Your Life Contest. Won a 5 download bundle for puretracks. ARV USD $3.95
• July 9/08 - LouLou Beauty Lottery - Avène High Protection Lotion SPF 30/After-Sun Repair Lotion/Thermal Spring Water spray. Value: $65.50
• July 11/08 - LouLou Beauty Lottery - Cargo EyeBronzer eyeshadow. Value of $23

I'm a happy Bargain Hunting Mommy On the Go! I cannot wait for all of these prizes to arrive. These latest wins bring me up to a Grand Total of: $1370.62 on the year! Not far off on my 2007 total of $1645.45!

Hip Hip Hooray for Contesting!

Shoppers DrugMart to the Rescue - A Well Deserved Pick Me Up!

I woke up this morning saddled with a migraine headache. My goodness was I feeling rough. The meds and coffee did little to curb the pain but alas as I am a Mom (hear me roar!) I have to keep going. In a last ditch effort to clear my head I decided to abandon ship (aka get out of the house). We went and walked down to M&M for some Chicken Nuggets for supper (sorry Mr. BHMotG!)... and headed back home.

Waiting for me in the mailbox was a wonderful package of goodies from Shoppers Drug Mart. A Girls Night Out package consisting of "Everything you need for a great night with the girls".

Let me tell you that it is one awesome freebie. Enclosed in the package:

• Biore Deep Cleansing Strip
• Veet Ready to Use Wax Strips
• Softsoap Spa Radiant Body Wash
• Frizz Ease Weather Works Samples (shampoo, conditioner & style sealant creme)
• Listering Whitening Strips (2 strip package)
• Stride Gum
• Goody Hair Elastics (4)
• Campino Candy

What an awesome pick me up! I now have a squeaky clean nose (blech! Now I remember why I used to use these as a teenager)... partially waxed legs (the strips quite honestly leave a lot of be desired), whitened teeth, beautifully coiffed hair, freshened breath, and my sweet tooth is satiated. Hip hip hooray!

It is pretty sad how excited I am running to the mailbox everyday, but with a haul like this who can blame me? I love getting freebies, coupon trades, and other goodies in the mail. Now if I could just put a stop to all the bills!

I'm the Baby, Gotta Love Me!

Both girls have been under the weather since Saturday night. Poor things! Miss Tala has the worst of it, but still took time out to blow bubbles!


I love this picture! I'm pretty tired right now as they have been feeling the most yucky at night time. I spent part of the night on the couch last night.

Hopefully they're feeling better in time to go camping this weekend. We're thinking of heading out and going camping as its the least expensive thing to do with a family. Prices are astronomical these days. Very disheartening when you're doing everything you can do to make ends meet and prices for gas & groceries keep climbing.

Thank goodness for my totally free Christmas Plan for 2008. The girls have gotten totally spoiled already! I just ordered them a Plasma Car (for free!). I also have a handful of dvd's (free) and books (free) and an absolutely beautiful print (also free!). The print retails for $130 and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time! I cannot imagine paying that much for a print for the kiddos, but my goodness is it beautiful.

And I'll Have Fun, Fun, Fun... loving my Zune!

So. I've now had my Zune for 3 whole days. Its great! I love it, love it, love it!

I've been busy playing around with it, showing it off to everyone I happen to chat with throughout the day. Today I received an invitation to the Zune Sniper Challenge. The Challenge is to take pictures of 25 people enjoying my Zune. So I headed off tonight and snapped the first 10 pictures. Some people looked at me super strangely... but I guess that's the point. The next time they're in the market for a mp3 player they'll probably remember the overly excited chick who gushed about all the features and took their picture for "their 5 seconds of fame".

The Zune is quite a bit more narrow but longer then the new style ipod. See photo comparison of the Zune and the new 4th Generation ipod Nano. The Cover Flow artwork is also far more advanced then that of the ipod as you can clearly see.

I love the built in (super clear) radio :o) For going to the gym it makes the Zune super practical. Scanning through the stations is a breeze, and adding your faves to pre-set is as easy as 2 button clicks.

I have to confess that at first my impression of the Zune's touch control wasn't overly positive as I have been using my ipod religiously for the last 3 years. But quite honestly, its grown on me and I'm once again breezing through my music and settings with ease.

Enjoying my blog posts about the zune? Then head over to www.ChatThreads.com and enter conversation ID 102 986208. Learn how you can have ChatThreads donate up to $5 to charity or enter to win up to $500 in Amazon.ca gift certificates! Not too shabby :O)

The Zune has Landed

After much eager anticipation my Zune has arrived. And it did not disappoint.

Its a snazzy little mp3 player that is light, but not light enough that you wouldn't notice it missing. The sound quality is great, it's attractive looking, and as far as being easy to use it ranks right up there with the IPod.

But I must say that by far the neatest feature of the Zune is the fact that the Zune Software loads everything onto your Zune with ease. My biggest frustration when the first Ipod made its way into our household was the fact that you had to jump through hoops to load music on both the Ipod & other mp3 players. Hence the reason we ended up with 3 Ipods. The Zune takes away that need.

My package arrived complete with 8gb Zune, AC Adapter, and Premium Headphones. The headphones are great quality. They block out background sounds, and put out a very decent quality of sound with no distortion. I highly recommend picking up the Premium Headphones. They are definitely worth the extra coin if you're a huge music fan as we are.

All in all the Zune is a great piece of electronics and at this point in time I highly recommend it to everyone. The pricing is right in line with the Ipod, and the quality is definitely there.

The 8gb Zune holds a whopping 2000 songs, 25000 pics or 24 hours of video. Simply amazing!

Visit the Zune Website here

"Excellent!"

Animations provided by MySpaceAnimations.com