Black Friday Super Avon Sale!

Need some last minute Christmas gifts? Or looking to stock up on some beauty supplies for yourself? Today would be a great day to place your Avon order! As part of the Black Friday Savings you can get a HUGE discount on your Avon order! The more you order, the larger your discount will be - Today only!

$0.00 - $25.00 in products = 5% off
$25.01 - $50.00 in products = 10% off
$50.01 - $75.00 in products = 15% off
$75.01 - $100.00 in products = 20% off
$100.01 or More in products = 25% off

Orders must be placed through the links in this post to qualify for this discount offer, because this offer is not a Company offer, it is specifically through this Avon Independent Sales Representative. Place your order by midnight tonight to qualify!

Become a Facebook Fan to stay informed of future Avon deals!

Black Friday $1 Sale At Twice Loved Boutique In Brooks!

Have YOU been to Twice Loved Boutique in Brooks lately?

Today would be a good day to stop by! In the fun of Black Friday, EVERYTHING is just ONE DOLLAR! $1 for all clothing, shoes, everything! You can even grab some gently used books 4 for $1!

Open 9 to 5 today (regular hours 10-4 Monday thru Saturday), you have two extra hours to get in on the savings!

Become a Facebook Fan to stay informed of future sales and deals by Twice Loved Boutique!

Black Friday Deals At Rite Aid

Check out ForTheMommas.com for a list of Black Friday deals you can find at Rite Aid! If I wasn't working I would probably go hit Rite Aid at least for some of these!

http://www.forthemommas.com/riteaid/rite-aid-black-friday-deals

cleveland's a plum: win a HP Pavilion dm3 laptop

Check out this AWESOME drawing for a FREE LAPTOP Computer!!!! You can enter as many times as you want and the more interest she gets, the better chance SHE has to win her OWN laptop!!! GET POSTING!

cleveland's a plum: win a HP Pavilion dm3 laptop

Swynxs Game System

Lots of great things to go over today... starting with this post and then I'll post two others!

I found a link the other night to a blog listing a TON of links to contests and drawings for free stuff... I took some time, and I entered a bunch that sounded interesting.
There was one drawing for a Swinxs Gaming Console, which I had NEVER heard of, but at first sight it kind of reminded me of the Nintendo Wii, and I almost clicked away because I am NOT a Video Game advocate of any kind. My kids have a Vsmile, and that doesn't even get used often because I prefer my kids get outside, be active, have creative play, etc. We are ALL about the arts and crafts here in our house!

So anyway, I decided to read more about it, and it looked kinda interesting. This game console does NOT use a television! TV FREE GAME... what could be better than that? How about a game that can be played by up to TEN people... that's our ENTIRE family, PLUS 4 guests! Ideas are rolling now... Birthday parties? Holiday get togethers? SNOW DAYS! It sounded good, can be played indoors and out, plugs in to charge so it doesn't have to be plugged in to be used, even better... Comes pre loaded with 10 games and you can download others for FREE....! Seriously? How much better could this thing get! Then I looked at the price tag.. nearly $200... YIKES! No way I'm spending that much on a game no matter HOW cool it is...

Unfortunately I had already told hubby about it and the kids swarmed around the computer to check it out and both the boys were singing in chorus "MOMMY, CAN WE GET ONE?!?! MOMMY, CAN WE GET ONE?!?!?!" Over and over and over again, hehe... I told them it was really expensive and that I would enter the drawing, but if I didn't win it, I couldn't afford to buy one, so not to get their hopes up.

I logged in to my email this morning and found a CONGRATULATIONS email from Amy at MomAdvice.com saying "Congrats: Winner Of The Swinxs Game Console!"

I had to read it 3 times to make sure she was really saying that YES, I had WON the game console!

My kids are gonna be THRILLED when they open this on Christmas morning... and Hubby will probably kick himself for getting frustrated about the half our of family time I "wasted" on the computer entering drawings, hehe...

Ok, no, really, there's no excuse for being on the computer during family time, but it worked out ok in the end!

November 15 Coupon Previews Available

Time to start planning your shopping trips for the next week! Sunday Coupon Preview has the November 15th coupon previews ready (RedPlum is up, SmartSource is not available yet but will be soon!)... I'm hoping the SmartSource insert has more to offer, personally I won't use any of the coupons in the RedPlum so it may not even be worth me buying a paper this week! Which is good in one sense because I am doing my big shopping trip on Friday to hit some good deals at Shaw's (last day of the deal I'm going after), and it would really be a shame to do this huge shopping trip 2 days before really good coupons come out!

I will be planning my shopping trip either today or tomorrow, whenever I am able to come up with either a Shaw's Ad Scan or when they email the weekly flier out, and as soon as I have my plan I'll post!

Until then... Here are your Coupon Previews! http://www.sundaycouponpreview.com/11-15-redplum-coupon-insert/

3rd Night FREE at Kenniston Hill Inn - Boothbay Harbor

Kenniston Hill Inn let us know about a great deal on Twitter! They are offering the third night free for guests at their Inn located in Boothbay Harbor, Maine through this Winter!

It's a beautiful inn, as you can see in the photographs on their website, and apparently has a little supernatural appeal as well! The Maine Ghost Hunters Society believes that even if all the rooms are vacant, Kenniston Hill Inn may have plenty of guests!

Exciting stuff, I'd stay there!

Free AVEENO Nourish Hair Care Sample

Check out this sample: Try the new Aveeno Nourish+ Hair Care Collection - Just fill out a short survey about the condition of your hair and scalp, put in your mailing info, and go!

Free Dunkin Donuts Coffee Sample

Grab this before it's all gone! I just signed up for mine!

Free Book Download: James Patterson - Witch & Wizard

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I absolutely LOVE James Patterson, he is one of my all time favorite authors, and I am slowly working on collecting EVERY book written by him, and making pretty good progress at it if I do say so myself!

So yeah, I just about flipped when I just found out that this new book "Witch & Wizard" that he has coming out in December was available for free Download online!!!

I'm not sure if it's the entire book or just one section, but hey, I'm not picky... if it's just a section then it will get me hooked and I'll have to find a way to go get the book for my collection, Christmas is coming! Otherwise, oh well... but it sounds absolutely fantastic!

The Description:
"You are holding an urgent and vital narrative that reveals the forbidden truth about our perilous times....

This is the astonishing testimonial of Wisty and Whit Allgood, a sister and brother who were torn from their family in the middle of the night, slammed into prison, and accused of being a witch and a wizard. Thousands of young people have been kidnapped; some have been accused; many others remain missing. Their fate is unknown, and the worst is feared—for the ruling regime will stop at nothing to suppress life and liberty, music and books, art and magic...and the pursuit of being a normal teenager."

Fascinating... I can't wait to read it!

The Debate Over Diapers

(Photo was taken by Me and is not to be used anywhere I have not posted it!)

There is a LOT of controversy about whether or not cloth diapers A.) Save money and B.) Are better for the environment.

When my 3rd child was about a year old I started researching cloth diapers, I even bought a few handmade ones from a work at home mom. Unfortunately I wasn't pleased with the quality of the diapers I had purchased, and an order through another work at home mom left me with no diapers and out about $30 and having to deal with a Paypal dispute. Thankfully I got my money back but I needed it for other things by the time it was returned, so I gave up my trial of cloth diapers.

Months later, when my husband and I decided to have a 4th child, the subject was brought up again. We already had a tight budget, and it was about to become even tighter!

After weighing our options we decided that cloth diapers were the best option for us, and we were happy with the impact our usage of them would have on the environment as well. We started out by purchasing some gently used BumGenius 3.0 diapers and a couple other brands to try out on the 2 year old. We fell in love with the BumGenius 3.0 diapers almost instantly. When we got our income tax return I was in my last trimester of my pregnancy and we immediately ordered enough BumGenius 3.0 diapers to use on both the girls. Thankfully within a few months, the oldest girl was completely potty trained, and that cut laundry a ton!

Here are some things I learned in my research:

• Cloth diapers are NOT always the more economical/environmentally friendly choice if you live in an area where water conservation is an issue, or if you have to pay for your water. Thankfully that isn't a concern where we live!
• In a study published in 1999 by Anderson Laboratories found that lab mice exposed to various brands of disposable diapers experienced asthma-like symptoms, as well as eye, nose and throat irritation. Exposure to cloth diapers did not cause the symptoms. (ABC News - May, 2005)
  
• Assuming most kids don't potty train completely until 3 or 4 years old (especially when your family has a history of bedwetting and bladder control issues like mine), that's 48 months (give or take) spending $35 a month (give or take) on diapers... not to mention baby wipes, etc. Which comes to nearly $2,000 - The entire supply of cloth diapers I had to purchase to diaper both daughters came to less than $500 - a savings of over $1,500!
  
• Children who have been cloth diapered tend to potty train earlier, and without less trouble (for example, my oldest 2 both wore disposables and didn't train until age 3 1/2, and took a LOT of work- switched to cloth with my third and she potty trained by age 2 1/2 - BY HERSELF!)
• By drying our cloth diapers on a clothes line whenever possible it keeps them smelling fresher, the sun removes stains (yep it really does!) and we use less energy!
• Using cloth diapers has NOT increased our laundry loads by a great deal... two extra loads a week, it's really not noticeable.

So over all it really is something that each family has to decide for themselves, because there are a LOT of factors that will decide if it will be cheaper and/or more economical for you to decide one way or the other. From what I can tell though, the MAJORITY Of Mainers (aside from maybe those in larger cities) would benefit from switching to Cloth Diapers... and I wholeheartedly recommend BumGenius 3.0's and I know a number of other families in the area who do as well!

BumGenius 3.0 diapers are available at Target, and many other small businesses. I purchased mine from a work at home mom who was a regular chatter on a cloth diapering forum that I used, I compared prices at many different places, and the price per diaper, after discount and with free shipping she offered, it was a great deal, about $14 per diaper!

Want to buy local? The Maine Cloth Diaper Company has a variety of different kinds of diapers available, and very friendly staff from what I saw at the Common Ground Fair this past September! I did not get my diapers from them, but have heard great things!

Note: I am receiving NO compensation by any of the Businesses/Brands/Websites mentioned in this post (though I wouldn't turn it down!). Everything posted has been my own opinion or information gathered by me through my own research.

Target Christmas Gift Deals!

There are 15 pages of Target Store Coupons available for printing right now! Some for as little as $3 off up to $10 off and some for 20% off certain items too!

These coupons are Store coupons so you SHOULD be able to combine them with a manufacturer coupon for even more savings.

Each coupon also features a Coupon Code so you can use them on Target.com!

By shopping through BigCrumbs or Mr. Rebates you can also receive other special deals, like Free shipping on certain sized orders, as well as cash back on your purchase!

I recommend signing up for both sites and whenever you shop online, check them both to see which provides the bigger deal!

The coupons DO expire the day before Thanksgiving, so no Black Friday savings unfortunately, But hey, hold onto them just in case you see a good deal between now and then! I've never shopped on Black Friday, though I just might start...

Folgers Gourmet Coffee Sample

We usually buy Folgers Coffee but usually just the regular, we don't splurge very often on Gourmet coffee, but I won't turn down free coffee!

Hurry cause at last count there were just over 17,000 left... Go to AllYou.com to request yours!

Kashi Granola Bars Free Sample

Here are a couple free samples you can sign up for... Hurry cause supplies are limited.

Click the images to sign up!



I've never tried these, but my family loves Granola bars! We are all about eating healthy :)

Ocean State Job Lot: Inkjet Refill Kits for $3 Each

My printer ran out of black ink on me when I was printing some important papers for school, right after having a short week at work and paying a bunch of bills, so what was I to do? I certainly wasn't going to go out and spend almost $30 on a SINGLE color ink cartridge just so I could print some school work... no way.

We were on our way to Belfast that evening and I had to pickup a few odds and ends at Ocean State Job Lot (they had some good deals on their weekly internet coupons!) so while we were there I looked in their Office Supply aisle and found Single Color Inkjet Refill Kits for $3 each!!! I grabbed two black ones since my colored cartridge is fine and I wanted to make sure these worked ok before I bought too many.


It's been busy since I got these so I was JUST able to try them out today, and it worked! It took me awhile to find the holes to fill my cartridge since mine wasn't listed in the instructions, but once I peeled away the label on the top of the cartridge I found 5 holes. I filled the cartridge, let it set for a few minutes, then printed a test page and my black, while not super high quality, was back! It's good enough for printing school papers (for my own viewing) and coupons, so that's good enough for me! I just got my black ink for about 1/10th the normal cost!