OLD NAVY Coupon: 50% off a Single Item

1. Go to Old Navy Weekly
2. Vote for "best legs" on the mannequins, all stars must turn blue
3. Wait 15-20 seconds for a kite to appear, and click on it – it starts on the left lower side and flies (quite quickly) towards the middle behind the girls
4. If you got it, a message will pop up
5. Print your coupon or email it to yourself

OR you could just print the coupon below. It’s not a unique code, so enjoy :)

Kids in the Kitchen

We stumbled upon this event last Saturday on our way to see Monsters vs Aliens. It was called “Kids in the Kitchen” where they had booths for kids/adults to learn about nutrition and healthy choices. Ironically, it was sponsored by McDonalds (which typically wouldn’t be the first thing on anyone’s mind when you say ‘healthy’).

Ethan had a lot of fun.

He played games, talked to the firefighters, did arts and crafts, exercised with the Soldiers/Marines, he even won a $25 giftcard to Mickey D’s – which, of course will be used towards apple dippers (ok, maybe some chicken nuggets, too).

There was a booth where they had laid out a bunch of food (healthy mixed in with the junk), and Ethan was supposed to pick 4 items to pack in his lunch bag. Proudly looking over his shoulder (and praying he would pass on the bag of Doritos), Mike and I watched Ethan pick a bag of nuts, a juice box, a milk carton and an orange! Then we realized he probably just wanted to stuff everything in the bag and bring it with him… :)

We also got several kid-friendly recipes that we collected by visiting each booth. Ethan got a free event shirt, a canvas bag, and a free Army shirt for doing pushups.

Hot Pink, Eyebags and a Great Catch

Horrible bags under my eyes....

I have been in a cast for 4 weeks now for my broken finger. The cast, bright in hot pink, goes up to almost my elbow. It’s extremely uncomfortable, gets heavy to lug around and very difficult to sleep with (I've actually hit myself over the head with it a few times, and Mike insists I gave him a black eye). I’ve noticed I’ve been more tired than usual… my doctor just says the body takes a lot of energy to heal. I still have a bottle of vicodin for those intolerable nights.

It’s unfortunate that my job relies heavily on my fingers to work on the computer and my hands for production. It’s been a royal pain in the you know what, but I’ve quickly learned to compensate with my left hand, and even though it’s slowed me down, I’m at least still getting things done.

But can I just say, that I’m the luckiest girl to have the greatest husband in the world?

Ever since I got imprisoned in this cast, he’s been so helpful and understanding. Even though I know he probably cringes when he hears me yell “Babe!” from the other side of the house, he’s been SUPER when it comes to doing things I normally could do myself.

He does laundry, cooks dinner almost every night, even grocery shopping! He wraps up my cast before I get in the shower, buttons up my pants, and doesn’t complain when I wake him up early morning to tie my hair in a ponytail (he’s actually gotten quite good at it).

Babe, if you’re reading this… THANK YOU, and I LOVE YOU.

Works for Me Wednesdays: How to Watch TV Shows/Movies Online

Fact #1: I don’t have time to watch tv.
Fact #2: When I do find the time, I would prefer to not have to watch commercials.
Fact #3: DVR is one of the greatest inventions known to mankind.
Fact #4: When you can’t access your DVR, if someone deletes your DVR recording, or if you don’t have the channel to DVR to begin with, you can always go online. Rest assured, someone else in cyberspace has recorded your show and have posted it online for your viewing pleasure.

Online streaming is how I survived 2 seasons of Top Chef and Project Runway without having Bravo on our cable package. I’ve also found myself watching Friends from the very beginning. How great is it that you can watch any show you could ever think of on demand, AND without the annoying pause for commercials.

But it’s not just tv shows anymore either. Gone are the days when you have to wait until weeks after release from theatre for it to go on betamax//VHS/DVD at your local Blockbuster. These days, movies get posted online before they are even released in the US. Granted you have to sort through several to find a good quality copy.. they do exist.. and they can save you the $20 you were going to spend at the movies.

My top picks are Tv Links, Surf the Channel and watch-movies.net.

I’m sure that there are plenty others, maybe even better ones. But these are the sites that I have been using and have consistently given me hours of entertainment without annoying popup ads and worse, viruses.

Monsters vs Aliens

Most of the time, we take him to the drive-in (luckily, we have one of the very few left just a hop, skip and a jump away). We’ve taken the truck with a twin mattress and some El Pollo chicken and unlimited snacks that don’t cost an arm and a leg. He generally does well if it’s a movie he’s interested in… we thought he would do okay to see Monsters vs Aliens in theatre, so we took him to see it in 3D over the weekend.

He started out good, fascinated with things he thought he could reach -- did ok for the most of the movie. For the first 10 minutes (about how long it took for them to set up the plot), Ethan kept asking “Where are the monsters?”. While Mike and I were busy trying to match the voiceovers to the characters. Now I know silence is golden in the theatre and all that jazz, but after a couple of other parents ssssh-shing their kids and babies crying in the background, we just kind of gave up. It was matinee after all, and a family movie. Between balancing on the folding seat (we didn’t get a booster chair), looking for the monsters, clapping for the monsters, and fighting for the popcorn tub, Ethan thought it was entertaining. He did start to get antsy towards the end and didn’t want anything to do with the 3D goggles – which only made the movie looked like you were watching it drunk.

The movie was cute overall. It centered itself on Susan, the giant girl, while the rest of the monsters – a blue gelatinous blob who falls in love with green jello, a brilliant scientist who turned himself to a cockroach, and a creature made of equal parts fish, ape, and frat boy referred to as The Missing Link -- just kind of followed in her shadow. The boyfriend was an ambitious jerk. The president in the movie was an idiot, I didn’t find him funny at all. There was a part in the movie where the “alien” started to attack, and the president said “we have to raise the terror level to code brown, because I have to check my pants”. Seriously…

In my opinion, it didn’t live up to the other Pixar movies. While the concept of the ass-kicking girl is all good and dandy, I didn’t really find myself all too interested in her character (it took her half the movie to realize she didn’t deserve her jerk-of-a-boyfriend). Oh well.

Ethan enjoyed it though! :)

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Works For Me Wednesdays: How To Volunteer When You Don’t Have the Time

I’ve always been a firm believer of paying it forward. I was a girlscout throughout grade school. In high school, some of my Saturdays consisted of waking up at 5am to help peel 500 potatoes for the local soup kitchen. In college, I spent a lot of time as a youth leader for the youth ministry, and once, I helped fix a home for a very deserving family through Habitat for Humanity. In my few years as an Army wife, I spent a lot of time with the Family Readiness Group, a nonprofit organization that helps families when their Soldiers are deployed.

Nowadays, being a working mom doesn’t leave me with very much time to dedicate somewhere outside of my work and family. Physically, anyway…

Thankfully, there’s plenty of opportunities for virtual volunteering! In this day and age, you’d be surprised how much you could do from home and over the internet. One of the organizations I’ve worked with recently, Youth Technology & Education Center in St. Louis Missouri, asked me to design a postcard to thank all their sponsors and contributors.

All it took were a few emails to get that simple sense of contribution -- as little as it seems.

I found them through Volunteer Match. It’s easy to search by location, by areas of interest, by groups and you can filter for virtual opportunities. But of course, if you’re so inclined to volunteer the old-fashion way, there’s plenty of opportunities for those too!

Splish Splash

Since both my camera and Mike’s camera croaked last week – I dropped mine and Ethan dropped Mike’s – AND I can’t even hold my nikon because of my cast…

I’m resorting to archives (for now) until we get a replacement.

These are actually only 2-3 weeks old… taken during one of Ethan’s fun times in the tab. It’s probably getting to that closing point where it’s going to start getting weird taking photos of him in the bath… for now, I think we’re okay!

Ethan actually loves taking bath -- or as he calls it “water down there”. Recently, he’s gotten used to taking showers – he calls it “rain”.

Stubbles

Love is....

...letting him be stubbly.

I don’t know about you, but I personally do not like stubbles. And this particular dislike of mine resulted in a cunningly provoked fight between me and the hubby.

I don’t like it. I think it makes a man look grungy and dirty, like they don’t care to take care of themselves. I think it’s ugly. And it feels “funny”.

Case in point: Ethan tried to give Mike a kiss one time and scowled “Your chin hurt my mouth, daddy”.

He insists he’s doing it for “Mustache March”…… it’s apparently a whole underground movement against clean-shaven faces all over the country. And I say, if I wanted a Chewbacca, I would’ve married one!

In fairness, Mike has had to shave everyday for the past 4 years because he was REQUIRED to (uniform and all), and now that he doesn’t have to, I suppose I could cut him a little slack. He did shave for an interview 2 weeks ago, and as a token of peace, shaved again yesterday.

So now, peace has been restored in our household.

And I promise to be a little more lenient with the mustache/beard rules, AS LONG AS HE NEVER lets it grow out like this guy.

Ew.

Coupon: Free Arbys Roast Burger with purchase of ANY drink

You can print the coupon above (click to enlarge and then print) or you can get your own by signing up for the ARBYS EXTRAS program. Fill out the form and they will email you a welcome coupon good for 7 days after you activate the coupon.

A small fountain drnk is around $1.60 so you can get a decent meal for under 2 bucks!

Enjoy!

Coupon: Aeropostale 30% Off Friends and Family Sale

Valid March 19 - March 22

AND you can use it on top of their clearance! EDIT: Apparently, this varies from store to store.

Get coupon here

Pink is the New Black

I finally saw my Orthopedic after having surgery done 2 weeks ago on my thumb. They took the surgical splint off, took one look at the pin protruding out of my skin, and said,

"See you in 4 weeks!"

Crap.

4 more weeks of this!?! Though I can't complain, especially after hearing about actress Natasha Richardson's skiing accident that left her brain dead. My prayers go out to her family.

That just looks disgusting, and yet I can't stop looking at it......

Who woulda thought I would pick pink?

Now I have to buy new pink wardrobe to match!

Coupon: FREE Ticket Upgrade to 3D showing of Monsters vs Aliens

Bank of America is providing free ticket upgrades to watch the 3D version of Monsters vs Aliens that is being released in theaters on March 27. To clarify, this is not a free ticket to the movie. You essentially get to watch the 3D version (around $12) for the price of a regular ticket (around $8). So if you were planning on seeing it anyway, like we are, you can upgrade to the 3D and save a few bucks -- or enough to splurge in the concession stand :)

I've seen a show in 3D before and it was amazing, I have a feeling Ethan will love this one!

Go to this link and follow the prompts. You'll be emailed a code(s) - you can get up to 4 - from BofA that you have to activate/redeem online for a ticket that you can print and take to the theater.

Each code is unique so hurry while it lasts!

Works For Me Wednesdays: Swapping Instead of Shopping

One girl’s old rags is another girl’s treasure!

I somehow ran into this idea surfing through the web and I thought it was brilliant….

It’s a phenomenon in the frugal world of bargain shopping — especially these days. And heck, you CAN’T get any better than FREE!!!! There’s a huge organization set up that does only swaps, but they haven’t posted any LA events… so we decided to try to pull one off on our own.


The idea is simple:
1) Everyone brings in clothes, shoes and accessories they just simply don’t love anymore and are taking up precious closet space
2) We come together, put them in piles, and look at what everyone else brought
3) What’s lefts gets taken to charity

My sister and I started posting on Craigslist and telling friends/co-workers about the idea. The response was pretty overwhelming. Those who couldn’t make it wrote emails begging us to organize another one (before the first one even started!) Next thing you know, there are 33 people who had RSVP’d yes, sending us scrambling to set up in the yard instead of the garage (turned into the dance room).

I’d say, there were about 20 people who ended up showing up. We provided some snacks/drinks and a dressing room (ie a designated bathroom) for those who wanted to try on clothes. There was music blasting, mirrors set up, and tables full of clothes, shoes, purses and other accessories.

Our rules were simple: bring what you can, take all you want BUT be considerate. In the end, everyone went home happy with their “new” and replenished wardrobe MINUS THE GUILT! And surprisingly, there is an unbelievably deep sense of satisfaction knowing that your clothing has found a new - and appreciative - owner. It was fun seeing other people pick up your clothes and saying “This is cute!” and responding with, “I know, that was mine! But it looks good on you!”

AND we had plenty left afterwards that we dropped off at a local women’s shelter.

Everybody wins!!!

Overall, it was a good time. People had already asked us when the “next one” is… some have requested we organize one for kids clothes – which I’m seriously considering. Maybe next month! :)

I'm going to be an Auntie!

Just found out my brother-in-law and sister-in-law are having a boy! Congratulations to Matt and Ria!

Works For Me Wednesdays: How To Get Free Hotel Rooms

So I decided I would (starting today) post every Wednesday… little tips that I have found to “work for me” [hence the name] in hopes whoever reads this can learn from it. Simple, right? It’s apparently a phenomenon in the blogging arena – check out the blog carnival here.

Though I’m not promising any life-changing revelations (for example, one week, I could talk about “How Not to Find Yourself Doing 8 Loads of Laundry on a Beautiful Saturday”), BUT… I do promise to (try to) post something every Wednesday. It’s my self-medicated approach to lagging.

Today’s WFMW is how to score a free hotel room – even if you don’t really need one.

I have to start my apologizing I didn’t get to share this sooner, because the program actually ends at the end of this month. Which means, you have 20 days to score a free one if you want. I discovered this deal last year and have since then been able to enjoy close to 50 hotel stays all across the US for FREE. I’m saddened by the news of the program’s conclusion – but you know what they say, all good things must come to an end.

Spoken by a true cynic.

Here’s the skinny:

Wyndham is a company that owns thousands of hotels and motels around the world. These hotels include the brands of Ramada, Howard Johnson, Baymont Inn & Suites, Super 8, Days Inn, Wingate by Wyndham, Knights Inn, AmeriHostInn, and Travelodge. Its Best Rate Guarantee (BRG for short) basically lets you stay for free for one night if you find a rate for their hotels that is lower than the price on Wyndham's site.

The basics rules are:
1) You must find a publicly available rate for a specific Wyndham hotel that is lower than Wyndham's posted rate for the same hotel.
2) The room type for the rate you find must match the room type on the Wyndham site.
3) You must book your reservation through Wyndham Rewards or one of Wyndham's hotel sites.
4) You must notify Wyndham of your claim within 24 hours of making the reservation and your reservation cannot be booked within 48 hours of arrival.
5) Only the first night is free for each eligible stay.

Here’s the kicker: finding the cheaper rate can be as easy as searching on Kayak or HotelsCombined (where they search hundreds of hotels for you and the rate variations can be obvious as day), but that doesn’t always pan out. Another great resource is the Best Rate Guarantee Blog – they post these rate variations almost daily. And for the last stretch of the remainder of this month, they’ve been knocking them out left and right.

Sometimes the competitor rates are only 99 cents cheaper than Wyndham's rates, but the guarantee is still honored because their Terms and condition require at least .25 difference – therefore you still a free night. If you plan well in advance, you could get an entire vacation’s hotel stays for free. You could move around different Wyndham properties in the same city and get multiple nights for free. Or if you’re traveling with a partner, you could alternate days.

For our anniversary week last year, I got 7 days of free hotels in DC, Baltimore, Maryland, Ocean City, Maryland, Virginia Beach, Virginia and Richmond, Virginia. Total hotel bill for that week = $0.

Days Inn Inner Harbor – Baltimore, MD



Ramada on the Beach – Virginia Beach, VA



Days Inn Oceanfront – Ocean City, MD


Wyndham Virginia Crossings – Richmond, VA

Hopefully, I’ve armed you with enough to get as much as you can before the program rests in peace on April 1st. Fair warning though, there are some hotels that are not worth staying in EVEN IF THEY ARE FREE, so do you due diligence in reading reviews before you get to excited.

Happy hunting!

Vain Revelations, Monkeys, and Celebrities with No Make up

This got forwarded to me by a friend this morning, and it comes at an utmost perfect timing after having a disastrous 2 weeks of terrible hair and uneven mascara. I was ready to break the mirror this morning.

Try putting eye liner on with a cast, forget about it. A monkey has a better chance of doing it.

I wonder where I could get one….

And nevermind my hair. My hair hasn’t seen a good day since the day I broke my thumb. I’m lucky to have a husband who would help me wash it, but he’s not as willing to blow dry and style. Mike straightening my hair is like me trying to re-build an engine.

Doable, but not likely to happen.

So imagine the smirk on my face when I saw other ugly mugs besides my own. It’s nice to know I’m not alone with the “off days”.

Katherine Heigl

Beyonce

Eva Longoria

Penelope Cruz

Cameron Diaz

Hilary Duff

Britney Spears

Pamela Anderson

Anna Kournikova

Goldie Hawn

Debra Messing

Liar Liar, Pants on Fire

OK, so I read child psychologists believe that preschoolers at this age don’t mean to lie maliciously – that the somehow makes up a version in their head and they convince themselves that that’s what actually transpired, even if it’s the complete opposite of the truth. I beg to differ. When I tell Ethan he’s not allowed to have candy. And he goes in the room and finds a secret stash. My spidey senses convince me to follow him and I catch him in the act with chocolate in his hand (and obvious hints of cocoa on the side of his mouth).

Me: Ethan, what are you doing?

Ethan: Nothing. :hiding the candy behind his back:

Me: Are you sure? I think you’re eating candy when mommy said you can’t have any before dinner.

Ethan: No. I’m not eating candy mommy.

Me: Ethan…. You know you’re not supposed to be eating candy before dinner.

Ethan: Ok, mommy.

Me: Then why are you eating candy.

Ethan: Because I go potty. (We’ve been trying to bribe – I mean, encourage him to go to potty by giving an incentive of a piece of candy every time he goes.)

Me: But you didn’t go potty.

Ethan: Yes, I need to go potty. See mommy? :runs to the toilet and does his business:

Me: Good job Ethan!

Ethan: Can I have candy now, please?

Me: You already had it, before you actually went to the potty.

Ethan: Oh ok. Thanks, mommy!

Chatty Ethan

I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but it seems like it happened overnight. All of a sudden, Ethan’s improved diction and grasp of grammar is off the charts – gone are the days when we could tell him something and all we could expect was a yes or a no. Now, he knows how to reason… to formulate a question… even manipulate a story he believes to be less troublesome than the truth (ie, lie)!

I’ve noticed he’s using more adjectives to describe things (the fast car, the big playground), he’s using the proper pronouns (him, her, us) and surprisingly using correct verb tenses (adding “s” and “ing” when needed).

He recites his days of the week without a stumble. Last week, he completely surprised me when he started counting in Spanish! And on Friday, when we picked him up from school, he proudly recited his 5 senses. How cool is that?

He’s really lazy, for some reason, when it comes to colors though. Some days, he will impress you… correctly pointing out every single color in an M&M pouch. Other times, he’ll just shrug “I don’t know” and start spitting out color names to get you off his back.

I can’t take credit for all of it, I’m almost saddened to say. His teachers at the Montessori Academy are really great and angelically patient. I have no idea how they go through day in and day out with that many brains to feed and short attention spans to entertain. I can barely handle Ethan sometimes! Ok, he’s not really that bad, but he can be a ball of energy and he will tire you out.

His lead teacher also raved about how much of a fast learner he is, and that he picks up things even when they think he’s paying attention. That is their main struggle with him, she said. He just won’t sit still! We promised to work more with him at home – quiet time, circle time, reading time – anything that would get his accustomed to staying still. But what else can you do? He’s not destructive, nor disruptive…. He just can’t stay in one spot for prolonged periods of time! I blame that on Mike :)

No Cameras? What?!?

It’s amazing how I’ve realized during the past week how much I take my right hand for granted.

• I can’t blow dry my hair.
• I can’t type 80 wpm anymore.
• I can’t stir anything in the pot without threatening to burn the kitchen down.
• I can’t play catch with my son.
• I can’t put deodorant on my left armpit.
• I can’t put my hair in a pony tail.
• I can’t talk on the phone illegally while driving.
• I can’t unsnap my own bra!

And unfortunately, I can’t even hold my own camera. :(

I’ll try my best to keep posting photos, I have Mike’s little Cybershot in tow (since mine broke! grr) so I won’t be completely “picture-less”.