Over the past few days things have been fairly slow in the freebies realm, though I am needing to get to Publix to pick up some of my BzzAgent products (iced coffee and V8 Energy drinks - I like Publix for these coupons because they are least likely to give me flak over a "free" coupon). The funny thing is is that the V8 Energy has an Ibotta rebate right now, so I totally plan on getting paid $1 for getting it for free. I have really come to LOVE Ibotta. The only BAD thing is that you can't redeem multiple items for the same rebate on the same receipt; I had a coupon for $1.50 off two Freschettas and each pizza had an Ibotta rebate for another $1.50 BUT I couldn't redeem both rebates at once and couldn't redeem the same receipt after the fact. Either way, in less than two months I've made almost $35 on Ibotta.
AllStar Reviewers sent out an email today for more essential oils, and I ordered another one from a different promo on Monday too, so I have a couple of NEW items coming. The one I ordered on Monday was a Thieves oil blend (cinnamon, eucalyptus, lemon, clove, and ... one more I don't remember), and today I got a 2oz bottle of grapefruit and a 4oz bottle of tea tree. I will definitely be passing along my reviews as soon as possible; these guys are rocking it! All of these oils are great for the business. My first set of pure essential oil candles seem to have come out very well - they are about to be sold to a co-worker this week.
Schoola has a 50% off promotion right now; if you use my affiliate link here you will help me out with an incentive and receive an incentive for yourself too. They currently have free shipping and special deals for back to school shoppers. Clothing is a wide range of sizes (even adult sizes!), so shop around and find something nice. I have a VERY nice skirt I ordered from there - looks very vintage with the style and design.
Keep it freebie, folks!
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Monday, July 20, 2015
Four BzzAgent Campaigns At Once!
As time goes on, I become an even bigger fan of BzzAgent's system of letting real people like myself and my family try products for free and pass along our opinions about the products. Earlier this week I got invited to join a FOURTH campaign all at the same time as my other three. I also received my BzzAgent kit for my V8 Energy products; now I'm just waiting on my fourth and last kit - it's a pencils campaign, they are sending two packages of pencils to try out for free. This will be great for my six year old son, who needs to start working harder on writing and school stuff (he's still stubborn but has been working more on math lately to catch it up).
I am beyond grateful to BzzAgent for their reaching out to me so much lately to try so many different products. I admit that we especially liked the Children's Claritin we received in our very first campaign; not only has it been beneficial to my older two kids, my fiance actually has used it from time to time to assist with his congestion and allergies too with success. We most likely will purchase more in the near future to keep on hand.
I am looking forward to partnering with BzzAgent more in the future; their consistency for inviting me lately has been above and beyond my expectations. My campaigns are closely monitored and reviewed quickly to ensure that I get credit for all of the work I put into my product "bzz". They definitely are very involved in the process, moreso than similar sites or programs that I am involved wtih, and I greatly appreciate their points system because it tells me when I have done a "great job" or even when I have new surveys available (once you complete the surveys available your points go back up, but if you have surveys waiting your points go down just a small little bit).
If *YOU* want to join in on the BzzAgent fun, use my link here to join in the fun. Referrals do help me in a small fashion by showing how I'm spreading the "bzz" to all of you about how great these guys are and getting these brands more airtime, too! There are a wide variety of products out there to try, and I am glad to use my skills with writing and reviewing to benefit my family as a whole.
I am beyond grateful to BzzAgent for their reaching out to me so much lately to try so many different products. I admit that we especially liked the Children's Claritin we received in our very first campaign; not only has it been beneficial to my older two kids, my fiance actually has used it from time to time to assist with his congestion and allergies too with success. We most likely will purchase more in the near future to keep on hand.
I am looking forward to partnering with BzzAgent more in the future; their consistency for inviting me lately has been above and beyond my expectations. My campaigns are closely monitored and reviewed quickly to ensure that I get credit for all of the work I put into my product "bzz". They definitely are very involved in the process, moreso than similar sites or programs that I am involved wtih, and I greatly appreciate their points system because it tells me when I have done a "great job" or even when I have new surveys available (once you complete the surveys available your points go back up, but if you have surveys waiting your points go down just a small little bit).
If *YOU* want to join in on the BzzAgent fun, use my link here to join in the fun. Referrals do help me in a small fashion by showing how I'm spreading the "bzz" to all of you about how great these guys are and getting these brands more airtime, too! There are a wide variety of products out there to try, and I am glad to use my skills with writing and reviewing to benefit my family as a whole.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Support Our Business, June PINCHme Box Arrived
I got my box in - yay for PINCHme! I haven't tried any of the products yet (I will be able to have the tea, it's sugar free woot), but I plan on doing such soon. Here we go!
I got diapers (way too small for my 2 year old haha), Mr. Bubble 3 in 1 Wash, Skin Fix hand creme, Nexus Band Aids, Luzianne Pour N Stir tea, and Secret Clinical Strength deodorant. Not a bad haul, and like I said, I'm excited to have some tea! My box I just ordered Tuesday has a lot more stuff in it.
I finished up my reviews for All-Star Reviewers (not the most original reviews, but I did what was needed and they are concise). I am hoping to see some new offers soon from them; they are a great program to be a part of. I still need to find the time to try out the oils in candles and see how it all works out.
I have been going through different survey sites as new surveys come up; I'm a fan of MySurvey so far. I am already close to $20 in rewards I can redeem (gift cards). On Springboard America I am at $10 survey dollars (can't cash out til $50), and I have almost $11 on Product Report Card. Not too shabby of a payout for someone who is only occasionally checking the pages (I admit I do MySurvey about once a day; it's pretty reliable for getting rewarded). I am hopeful that the surveys will continue to help me out indirectly with gathering money.
OUR BUSINESS
We are owners of a wood refinishing business and recently purchased a CNC machine for our shop to cut a variety of projects out and design them. It's a huge expense, but we are in the process of negotiating deals with some sources and Chris is having to learn the machine from (mostly) scratch. He is very good with this sort of thing so we are both hoping the learning curve goes kind of quickly; if it does, we may be in (big) business sooner rather than later. If you are reading this, visit our Facebook page and give us a like. If you love firearms please give us orders! Soon you may see our products on larger markets; one off custom jobs won't last long if so!
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
My Candles on E-Bay!, All Star Reviewers Essential Oils
To my surprise and delight, the other bottles of essential oils I've been waiting on from All Star Reviewers (well, gotten free through their promotion with Prime Time Commerce) came in on Monday all in the same box! A little backstory here: I had tried to use my promo codes in one cart but was having trouble. The only way it worked as checking out separately for each oil (that's a lot of orders mind you); this was going to really tax Prime Time in terms of the shipping costs. I contacted them directly through Amazon and requested my products grouped together but was told this was not possible. To my surprise they arrived in one large Priority Mail box on Monday though! Great service to them!
The oils all arrived intact and as expected with no damaged or leaky bottles. They all smell like they should knowing what I do about essential oils (I work with them every day at my 9 to 5 job). Here's a good picture of what I got (minus the myrrh oil - I got that in a separate order that had shipped much earlier than the others).
The oils all arrived intact and as expected with no damaged or leaky bottles. They all smell like they should knowing what I do about essential oils (I work with them every day at my 9 to 5 job). Here's a good picture of what I got (minus the myrrh oil - I got that in a separate order that had shipped much earlier than the others).
The two smaller bottles are in front of bigger bottles of the same thing.
Including the myrrh oil I got 8 different types of oil.
I haven't worked up the energy or desire to use them in candles yet. I really want to, but I admittedly could use a market for it in the first place - I don't want to make candles just to sit around without being compensated for the work. Speaking of being compensated for my candles... !
Today is the first time I have ever listed anything on E-Bay as a seller. I made a listing for the variety of candles I have sitting at home that I haven't sold yet. Please visit my selling page to see what candles or scents I have available and help me out! I could use the extra revenue from getting rid of some of these extras. If all goes well, I will use E-Bay to keep my fragrance oil candles going and start selling 100% natural essential oil candles as well.
I'm still waiting on my PINCHme box from last month, but I did successfully get a very full box for this month; other than a protein powder sample, every other sample that was available to me is in my box - more than the standard six thanks to my "free trial" of PINCHme Plus. I'll be glad to see my other free items come in this week, however.
Keep it freebie as always!
Sunday, July 12, 2015
CVS Deal This Week
Today I took part in the deal of the week at CVS! I think this is becoming a Sunday tradition. CVS has a $5 off $15 cosmetics purchase. Also, along with that, all CoverGirl cosmetics have a buy $15 and get $5 back in ExtraBucks. On top of that, I had my P&G Brandsaver flyer from last week which has a $4 off two lip products coupon (this was from last week's 7/5/15 P&G BrandSaver in the Sunday paper). Two of their glosses together were about $15.60; with my coupons and ExtraBucks I paid about $1.60 of my own money (which I paid for with ExtraBucks from previous visits). Not shabby! Now I have some nice colored glosses for going out.
Not bad for about a dollar.
Tan is clear and shimmery.
Red is sassy! I like this picture.
My pale skin works awesome with red.
Be sure to "like" my Facebook page - I always post my blog updates as I write them and sometimes post other money-saving deals as I find them and partake in them! When my full set of oils comes in (I wouldn't be surprised to see them Monday through Thursday at some point, so expect a big update then) I plan on doing some tests with them and then making candles - if it goes well enough I may permanently make candles using essential oils along with the fragrances.
I should receive last month's PINCHme box any day now. Tomorrow I am eligible for a free day of trying out "PINCHme Plus" at 9 a.m.; I get my samples a day early and possibly more than normal too. This will be fun to try out as a one time deal, but I am pretty dedicated to getting my samples even on Tuesdays (without paying $3.99 for early access). I will be sure to update everyone about what awesome samples I score tomorrow from PINCHme as soon as the mail runs (so I can lump all of my posts into one big one).
Keep it freebie folks!
Friday, July 10, 2015
BzzAgent Campaign Kits
Finally I can show off a couple of goodies - these babies came in over the past couple of days, and I just now have enough time to give you a little post of what I've received from BzzAgent.
International Delight campaign coupon and welcome.
Secret Outlast deodorant (not full size) and welcome.
I'm going to shop around for the coffee to see if I can find something that is closer to what I might be able to ingest; if not, then I will be buying this for Chris to try moreso than myself. The deodorant does smell quite nice and I honestly have never used a gel deodorant before so this will be a new experience for me. I will be passing along my reviews here on the blog as I go through my campaigns for these products. As always with BzzAgent (or Influenster) products, I received these products for free in exchange for my opinions on the products. All reviews and opinions expressed, however, are not influenced by that and are my own.
I was given the chance to order another free essential oil this morning from Amazon through All Star Reviewers. I now have a bottle of Frankincense oil on the way from another oils company to go along with the massive order I placed earlier this week through Sun Essential Oils and Prime Time Commerce (the distributor on Amazon). This is an early on relationship for me, but I am very pleased by what I have been offered through All Star Reviewers, and frankly, it could be greatly beneficial to my business seeing as how essential oils tend to be very expensive and candles need pure essential oils if you are going to make them all natural. I am not sure how I will sell these products once I work on blending some scents, but I will find an outlet for all natural candles and see how it goes.
I also am getting sent a sample bag of Manitoba Harvest's Hemp Hearts thanks to Swaggable - I have been a member of Swaggable for quite a long time but finally got my first product offer, so it will be on its way soon as well! I actually quite love Manitoba Harvest's Hemp Hearts so I will definitely put those babies to good use (better known as just eat them right out of the bag because they are that tasty and great for low carbers like myself!). Thank you very much Swaggable for finally hooking me up with something to try! I hope this means more things from them are going to come in the near future. You should check them out and put a few products on your wishlist - maybe you'll get lucky and get to try something like I am!
That's it for today folks - keep it freebie! I'm going to keep the updates rolling as my free items on their way keep arriving. I will try to remember to add coupon deals in when I know of them (such as right now there's a printable coupon for Sparkling Ice drinks for $1.50 off one but most stores around here sell them for $1 - $0.50 moneymaker!). See ya!
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
All Star Reviewers
So, I recently decided I would try out getting in contact with All Star Reviewers to become a part of their Amazon.com reviews team and see how it works out; well tonight is my first night where I was able to get involved with one of their promotions. I must say, when this website throws down a promotion they THROW DOWN - I just ordered $150+ of essential oils for absolutely free thanks to All Star Reviewers, Prime Time Commerce, and Sun Essential Oils. I am so very excited to try out these products and make some awesome products (candles, homemade insect repellent, maybe a few other things)!
All Star Reviewers emails you different promos they have available, but you only have a short time to get the items for the promotional price (in this case my items were free) using the proper checkout method and promotional codes. In exchange for trying the items out, all you have to do is leave feedback on the listing on Amazon - well, a review obviously. I will let you know how everything goes next week when all of my items arrive.
I also have yet ANOTHER BzzAgent campaign I got accepted to for V8 Energy Drinks. All of my other BzzAgent and PINCHme boxes have shipped (except this new one) and should be here within the next week - and hopefully two of those three boxes will be here tomorrow! I am getting so many items lately to try out and feature on the blog, so I hope these arrive in a timely fashion so I can pass along my opinions sooner rather than later. Once some items get here I will give you some pictures to look at too! How exciting.
I'm also planning a big (AKA "moneymaker") shopping trip to CVS tomorrow. I have printable coupons in hand and Ibotta on my side to make sure I make money! I should be bringing home $2.50 that I didn't have before... love getting paid to shop.
Keep it freebie folks!
All Star Reviewers emails you different promos they have available, but you only have a short time to get the items for the promotional price (in this case my items were free) using the proper checkout method and promotional codes. In exchange for trying the items out, all you have to do is leave feedback on the listing on Amazon - well, a review obviously. I will let you know how everything goes next week when all of my items arrive.
I also have yet ANOTHER BzzAgent campaign I got accepted to for V8 Energy Drinks. All of my other BzzAgent and PINCHme boxes have shipped (except this new one) and should be here within the next week - and hopefully two of those three boxes will be here tomorrow! I am getting so many items lately to try out and feature on the blog, so I hope these arrive in a timely fashion so I can pass along my opinions sooner rather than later. Once some items get here I will give you some pictures to look at too! How exciting.
I'm also planning a big (AKA "moneymaker") shopping trip to CVS tomorrow. I have printable coupons in hand and Ibotta on my side to make sure I make money! I should be bringing home $2.50 that I didn't have before... love getting paid to shop.
Keep it freebie folks!
More CVS Deals This Week
Ahhh, I really enjoy shopping at CVS. They make getting great deals fairly easy. This week there are multiple deals to watch out for, especially if you are an Ibotta lover like me. Here are THREE ways to make some money and get products at the same time!
First, Tena products are buy one get one half off. $4.59 for a pack of pantiliners + $2.30 for the second. You get $2 ExtraBucks for each ($4). There also is a printable coupon for $2 off one (print two) - you make about $1.70 on this deal.
Second, Starbucks Iced Coffees are $1.25 this week. There is a printable coupon for $1 off plus an Ibotta rebate for $1 as well; you make $0.75 on this deal.
Lastly, Gatorade Propel electrolyte waters are on sale for $1.25. You get $1.25 ExtraBucks plus an Ibotta any brand rebate on sports drinks for $0.20, meaning you make $0.20 on this deal.
With my stacked up ExtraBucks I have saved up, I will look at buying the Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs to do the Virtual Vox for Influenster. I am hoping that, if I keep doing tasks fairly consistently, I will get into more Vox Boxes and continue getting invited to do other things. I also hope to win a prize or two along the way...! Keep your fingers crossed and I'll update you as my current Voxes finish up over the next few weeks.
I am still awaiting my PINCHme box from last month and my incoming BzzAgent kits. I will definitely make updates on the site once those are here and show everyone what they contain. I hope the International Coffee box has a sugar free version I might be able to buy for myself - and if not they should DEFINITELY make one that is sugar free! I will be sure to express my desire for such if there proves not to be one available.
Get out to CVS and get some freebies this week folks! I hope to get there tomorrow night I think to partake in the goodies. Keep it freebie and tune in for more deals as I find them!
First, Tena products are buy one get one half off. $4.59 for a pack of pantiliners + $2.30 for the second. You get $2 ExtraBucks for each ($4). There also is a printable coupon for $2 off one (print two) - you make about $1.70 on this deal.
Second, Starbucks Iced Coffees are $1.25 this week. There is a printable coupon for $1 off plus an Ibotta rebate for $1 as well; you make $0.75 on this deal.
Lastly, Gatorade Propel electrolyte waters are on sale for $1.25. You get $1.25 ExtraBucks plus an Ibotta any brand rebate on sports drinks for $0.20, meaning you make $0.20 on this deal.
With my stacked up ExtraBucks I have saved up, I will look at buying the Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs to do the Virtual Vox for Influenster. I am hoping that, if I keep doing tasks fairly consistently, I will get into more Vox Boxes and continue getting invited to do other things. I also hope to win a prize or two along the way...! Keep your fingers crossed and I'll update you as my current Voxes finish up over the next few weeks.
I am still awaiting my PINCHme box from last month and my incoming BzzAgent kits. I will definitely make updates on the site once those are here and show everyone what they contain. I hope the International Coffee box has a sugar free version I might be able to buy for myself - and if not they should DEFINITELY make one that is sugar free! I will be sure to express my desire for such if there proves not to be one available.
Get out to CVS and get some freebies this week folks! I hope to get there tomorrow night I think to partake in the goodies. Keep it freebie and tune in for more deals as I find them!
Friday, July 3, 2015
Great Deal at CVS!
So, I found a wonderful deal at CVS. They have Oral B battery powered toothbrushes for $7.49 with $4 back in ExtraBucks on each. They also have Colgate toothpastes for $3.49 with a $2 ExtraBucks return. $10.98 so far with $6 of that coming back as ExtraBucks. I had a $0.50 coupon and a $1.50 Ibotta rebate, so $8 total in savings. CVS also has a coupon (tacked on the end of a receipt actually) that is $3 off $9 in oral care products; $8 + $3 = $11 - I offically got my set of toothpaste and toothbrush for free! (I also had another $2 in ExtraBucks that I used on this receipt and purchased a gallon of milk - which got me another $1 in ExtraBucks so I spent about $1 total on the milk and the rest).
Here's the photographic proof! Happy shopping freebie hunters!
Here's the photographic proof! Happy shopping freebie hunters!
My ExtraBucks from the purchases.
My purchases - note the savings from coupons.
So, this is also the first time I've ever used an electric toothbrush of any kind. For me, it is an odd thing, but I think I do like it. Makes your mouth feel funny for a long time afterwards. I will follow up later on this new freebie of mine. I also got accepted to a VirtualVox on Influenster for Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs, which I might partake in. I will check it out soon.
Keep it freebie!
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
BzzAgent Campaigns On The Way!, WalMart deals
I have recently been invited to not one but two upcoming BzzAgent campaigns within a week of one another. I will be participating in the Secret Outlast campaign and the International Delight campaign! I will be receiving these products for free (either directly in the mail or a coupon for the products) in return for me trying them and passing my opinions along on how I like them (and spreading the word to you guys!).
My two sets of campaigns on the way from BzzAgent.
I also visited WalMart today and found two great deals; my current coffee maker is the Hamilton Beach FlexBrew, and I found one in a busted up box for only $30 (I paid about $50 a year and a half ago for mine brand new) - but brand new with no issues. I am thrilled! I have a clean, new coffee maker ready to go instead of my dirty, heavily used machine if anything may happen to it. I also found a wonderful Veggetti Pro (regularly about $25) for only $12 in the same store!! I immediately had to grab it; as someone who is a low carb fanatic I will put it to great use making veggie noodles and other salads and such.
My final tally for the month of June with Ibotta is $22.35 in rebates. Not bad for a first timer; I will be working hard to gather more rebates during July. I really love the idea of stacking coupons, sales, and Ibotta rebates to maximize savings. With the Gold Peak deal, I even made money buying bottles of tea this month! I am so excited to work towards more savings and hopefully stretch my dollars even more.
The coming weeks should be exciting with all the freebies coming my way. You guys should keep it freebie too and try out some of my favorite sites. I'll give some of my affiliate links below.
BzzAgent: http://u.bzz.com/ch7xu
PINCHme: https://www.pinchme.com/ (no affiliate)
Smiley360: https://smiley.socialmedialink.com/ (not sure where my link is)
Influenster: www.influenster.com/r/1134889
Klout (new site for me, will post about soon): http://www.klout.com
Schoola: http://www.schoola.com/stitch?ref=cp-3X2e6h9G2 (USE my link for signing up to get a free credit for clothes! Anytime someone uses my link I get credits too!)
Ibotta: https://ibotta.com/r/obhlpgd (obhlpgd is my referral code that can be used as well, I receive $2 per person that signs up and you join my team which increases our rebate potential!)
Friday, June 26, 2015
Great Ibotta Deals, New Bzz Campaign!
I have been binge watching Grey's Anatomy and not keeping up very closely with the blog so I greatly apologize. I have become a dedicated Ibotta user and found a great deal with it at Publix (today was the last day unfortunately on the coupon I used though). Their in-store coupon flyer had a buy one get one free coupon for Gold Peak Tea (so two for $1.49). I get $1 back for each bottle of tea, so I make $0.51 per transaction with my Ibotta rebates! They make a bottle that is unsweetened, which is great for me since I do not use sugar. They are pretty good with some lemon and stevia mixed in so I can't complain for getting paid to buy something. Publix also has all Coca-Cola 12 packs on sale for buy two get two free (4/$9.98); with the (expiring today) in-store coupon of buy two Dr. Pepper 12 packs and get $2 off, I got four 12 packs of those for $5.98!
I am also super excited to announce my SECOND BzzAgent campaign - I will be receiving the Secret Outlast Gel deodorant and testing it out for free thanks to BzzAgent. This will be my second deodorant campaign (I did a Virtual Vox for Influenster as well but I did purchase the product with my own money) that I've done recently - I hope I get a good scent in the mail. I will be excited to see how well the product works, especially since it is a gel. I have never used a gel deodorant any time in recent memory; I typically buy or use solids. Thanks so much (as always!) to BzzAgent for being a great website for those of us who like to be at home product testers on the side.
I also should be receiving my next PINCHme box in the mail soon - it shipped three days ago, so it'll be here next week actually. Maybe I'll get lucky and get some larger (or multi use) samples in this box. PINCHme is definitely another company I'm thankful for; they really started a large part of my freebie journey! Once I realized there were resources out there for people to "professionally" test products for free in exchange for their honest opinions, I was in! For a low income family, it can be a blessing to have a few extra items coming in without having to pay for it. Making ends meet otherwise could definitely be harder.
I am very excited to look through the new in-store coupon booklet that should be coming out this next week at Publix. I don't know what it might have in it, but I hope it involves Coca-Cola 12 packs in some way (since they are already so ridiculously priced and my fiance drinks them exclusively). Keep your eye out for great Ibotta deals or coupons and tip me off - I might even feature your tips on my Facebook feed!
I am also super excited to announce my SECOND BzzAgent campaign - I will be receiving the Secret Outlast Gel deodorant and testing it out for free thanks to BzzAgent. This will be my second deodorant campaign (I did a Virtual Vox for Influenster as well but I did purchase the product with my own money) that I've done recently - I hope I get a good scent in the mail. I will be excited to see how well the product works, especially since it is a gel. I have never used a gel deodorant any time in recent memory; I typically buy or use solids. Thanks so much (as always!) to BzzAgent for being a great website for those of us who like to be at home product testers on the side.
I also should be receiving my next PINCHme box in the mail soon - it shipped three days ago, so it'll be here next week actually. Maybe I'll get lucky and get some larger (or multi use) samples in this box. PINCHme is definitely another company I'm thankful for; they really started a large part of my freebie journey! Once I realized there were resources out there for people to "professionally" test products for free in exchange for their honest opinions, I was in! For a low income family, it can be a blessing to have a few extra items coming in without having to pay for it. Making ends meet otherwise could definitely be harder.
I am very excited to look through the new in-store coupon booklet that should be coming out this next week at Publix. I don't know what it might have in it, but I hope it involves Coca-Cola 12 packs in some way (since they are already so ridiculously priced and my fiance drinks them exclusively). Keep your eye out for great Ibotta deals or coupons and tip me off - I might even feature your tips on my Facebook feed!
Sunday, June 21, 2015
Ibotta
I am not going to make this a long entry, but I am really enjoying using Ibotta. So far I have gotten a lot of rebates and am up to almost $12 in redeemable money. I am not sure quite yet what I'll spend it on when I decide to redeem it; should I buy more necessary items or get something "nice" for myself?
Many of the items available on Ibotta are ones that I buy somewhat regularly or are ones that could potentially be a good deal, especially with extra coupons and/or sales. I am getting some baby items for super cheap soon (Beech-Nut coupon and an Ibotta rebate stacked), and I can get produce items in whatever amount I like and get a $0.20 rebate on whatever I buy (I am not above buying single pieces of produce to get free items). Other items I buy a lot - bread, milk, eggs, butter for example - are all useful too since I have to buy them no matter what. I even got a rebate on energy drinks that my fiance drinks all the time!
Many of the items available on Ibotta are ones that I buy somewhat regularly or are ones that could potentially be a good deal, especially with extra coupons and/or sales. I am getting some baby items for super cheap soon (Beech-Nut coupon and an Ibotta rebate stacked), and I can get produce items in whatever amount I like and get a $0.20 rebate on whatever I buy (I am not above buying single pieces of produce to get free items). Other items I buy a lot - bread, milk, eggs, butter for example - are all useful too since I have to buy them no matter what. I even got a rebate on energy drinks that my fiance drinks all the time!
Friday, June 19, 2015
Chicken Predator, TenMarks, Slowness
First off, I really have had a slow time of things around here recently. I have no real fun stuff to fill everyone in on. I am being lazy I admit (watching a lot of TV shows on Netflix), but even still I've gotten little to no mail lately. I got a sample of L'oreal's straight hair line but I don't like it; it made my hair look greasy today and it's just not for me. I will go back to regular shampoo and a leave in; for me, the results I see with that type of product combination are astounding compared to almost everything else I've ever tried.
We have a bobcat or small cougar loose on our property. This feline hunter has killed almost all of my chickens (there is supposedly one hen left). I am very sad about this situation; eggs are so expensive now that I really do need my backyard flock around to keep eggs. I currently do have tons of eggs thankfully so I won't have to make myself sad with purchasing $2 or more a dozen eggs at a regular store.
For my son this summer we've been utilizing TenMarks, an Amazon subsidiary company that has online lessons for school-aged kids through the summer. In the past it was a paid service, but this summer they had it available for free. It has been useful and given us some good lessons regarding shapes, fractions, values (greater than, less than, equal to). We are using it almost every day right now at least once just to keep him doing some kind of work. He is very difficult to teach and stubborn as hell to get into the mood to even do anything, but once I can get him to concentrate for a few minutes he actually does very well. His reading is outstanding, so we have been focusing primarily on math all summer. He has read a chapter in Tom Sawyer out loud to me before and we've read a few pages of Harry Potter book 1 as well. I wish I could get him to really love reading like I do! Just a reminder though - he is only six, so his level of education for his age is outstanding!
I used my Target gift card today to buy my dad a Father's Day card (which will be late, sigh), a pack of paper plates, some candy for Chris, and a box of chocolate raspberry coffee pods for me. It's a rare occasion when I buy myself some K-Cups; they are super expensive but they taste so good with so many crazy flavors. I'm gonna enjoy them for a few weeks while they last.
I am expecting a PINCHme box in the next few weeks (it hasn't shipped yet). I hope to get some new campaigns from my favorite sites soon; we'll see. Keep it freebie in the meantime, guys.
We have a bobcat or small cougar loose on our property. This feline hunter has killed almost all of my chickens (there is supposedly one hen left). I am very sad about this situation; eggs are so expensive now that I really do need my backyard flock around to keep eggs. I currently do have tons of eggs thankfully so I won't have to make myself sad with purchasing $2 or more a dozen eggs at a regular store.
For my son this summer we've been utilizing TenMarks, an Amazon subsidiary company that has online lessons for school-aged kids through the summer. In the past it was a paid service, but this summer they had it available for free. It has been useful and given us some good lessons regarding shapes, fractions, values (greater than, less than, equal to). We are using it almost every day right now at least once just to keep him doing some kind of work. He is very difficult to teach and stubborn as hell to get into the mood to even do anything, but once I can get him to concentrate for a few minutes he actually does very well. His reading is outstanding, so we have been focusing primarily on math all summer. He has read a chapter in Tom Sawyer out loud to me before and we've read a few pages of Harry Potter book 1 as well. I wish I could get him to really love reading like I do! Just a reminder though - he is only six, so his level of education for his age is outstanding!
I used my Target gift card today to buy my dad a Father's Day card (which will be late, sigh), a pack of paper plates, some candy for Chris, and a box of chocolate raspberry coffee pods for me. It's a rare occasion when I buy myself some K-Cups; they are super expensive but they taste so good with so many crazy flavors. I'm gonna enjoy them for a few weeks while they last.
I am expecting a PINCHme box in the next few weeks (it hasn't shipped yet). I hope to get some new campaigns from my favorite sites soon; we'll see. Keep it freebie in the meantime, guys.
Monday, June 15, 2015
We Are Home!!! - Ibotta
After a very fun (but exhausting) weekend away at my mom's and Florida Country Superfest, we have returned to our home and are very happy to be here. The festival was very entertaining in many ways between the people and the show itself; Zac Brown Band was by far my favorite show just because I like bands that can do any kind of music, including covers of other genres. Kenny Chesney was also a great show but predictable; I easily guessed the encore song and had heard him perform all of the other songs he did at this show last year when we went to FloraBama Jam. The seats themselves were nice even though they were up a bit; we were in the SHADE the entire time! Lucky us, free seats that were perfect!
From our seats in the stadium.
I am known for getting free samples as much as possible and freebies through other sites too, but I am soon to see new budgetary restrictions on my grocery shopping... so I have decided to give Ibotta a shot. I have heard good things through a family relative, so I downloaded the app today. I already am a little frustrated; I unlocked a rebate and it expires before tomorrow but I can really use it! It's not like I live somewhere that I can just go redeem it anytime I like. I think I am going to have to get used to using this app; any suggestions as to maximizing my rebates? Coupons and bargain shopping are easy, but this puts a whole new layer of complications to the process! I need the savings though; we are cutting our food budget per month by more than $60.
I didn't notice anything very exciting in the mail after being gone since Saturday; I had a sticker from Harley Davidson I had sent off for a while back (which my fiance quickly took away lol), but other than that the mail was very unexciting. I have also joined a few more survey sites in an effort to continue to bring in financial income beyond my regular job and small candle business. I am desperately trying to keep us out of debt this year so I can afford to BUY a home next year (I've been renting and wasting my money for far too long). Cross your fingers.
Friday, June 12, 2015
FL Country Superfest, Dove Advanced Care
Firstly, I have been involved with a Virtual Vox through Influenster. With a Virtual Vox, I *did* go buy this item - Dove Advanced Care Deodorant - to test for the purposes of different tasks through Influenster. This deodorant claims to work for not just 24 but a whole 48 hours; I typically shower every other day, so I figured I'd give this a shot and see how well this does for me. I have made a few observations and can easily note some drawbacks to a product like this. I'll pepper this discussion with a bit of my personal opinion.
Dove Advanced Care should, since it works twice as long, last twice as long as well in terms of the stick itself. The particular product I picked specifically mentions softening skin and evening out skin tone as well under the arms; I am not sure if this is something I've noticed already, but it is an interesting product in that respect. I am not sure if this an issue I have personally, but I have seen and known other people that might. I admit I mostly picked this particular variety of Advanced Care deodorant for the smell. I absolutely loved the fragrance of this! During the first few hours it smelled very strong and actually soaked deep into the shirt I was wearing during that period of time; by the end of day one it smelled normal. During day two there was no good smell left, but I have not smelled bad or foul at all during that point either. In all of these things, I see good from this product; I am definitely a "set it and forget it" kind of gal. Only having to use this once every two days is awesomely convenient.
There are disadvantages to such a product too, though. The good smell it has doesn't last more than a day (and definitely a bit less than that, even). It also concerns me that this product works for so long; what kinds of extreme amounts of chemicals and other unnatural things are being used here? Should I be concerned for my body and its pores being clogged to the point of who knows what? As someone who works in the natural foods industry, it is difficult to embrace a product just because it offers more convenience and a lower price point per usage while sacrificing clean ingredients. For my personal usage, this product should be more natural and perhaps sacrifice more in terms of the length of effectiveness.
Happy news - received my $25 box of Quest bars - super awesome! They got here much earlier than expected AND in enough time to take on my trip. The dates are good on them and they are my favorite flavor; I am so thrilled. Snacks galore for me! Yum!
Just a reminder - going out of town for Florida Country Superfest this weekend. We will be back on Monday, and I will give great updates as much as I can. I hope the night(s) go well and my mom can handle my babies. I love her so much for doing this for me.
Dove Advanced Care should, since it works twice as long, last twice as long as well in terms of the stick itself. The particular product I picked specifically mentions softening skin and evening out skin tone as well under the arms; I am not sure if this is something I've noticed already, but it is an interesting product in that respect. I am not sure if this an issue I have personally, but I have seen and known other people that might. I admit I mostly picked this particular variety of Advanced Care deodorant for the smell. I absolutely loved the fragrance of this! During the first few hours it smelled very strong and actually soaked deep into the shirt I was wearing during that period of time; by the end of day one it smelled normal. During day two there was no good smell left, but I have not smelled bad or foul at all during that point either. In all of these things, I see good from this product; I am definitely a "set it and forget it" kind of gal. Only having to use this once every two days is awesomely convenient.
There are disadvantages to such a product too, though. The good smell it has doesn't last more than a day (and definitely a bit less than that, even). It also concerns me that this product works for so long; what kinds of extreme amounts of chemicals and other unnatural things are being used here? Should I be concerned for my body and its pores being clogged to the point of who knows what? As someone who works in the natural foods industry, it is difficult to embrace a product just because it offers more convenience and a lower price point per usage while sacrificing clean ingredients. For my personal usage, this product should be more natural and perhaps sacrifice more in terms of the length of effectiveness.
Happy news - received my $25 box of Quest bars - super awesome! They got here much earlier than expected AND in enough time to take on my trip. The dates are good on them and they are my favorite flavor; I am so thrilled. Snacks galore for me! Yum!
Just a reminder - going out of town for Florida Country Superfest this weekend. We will be back on Monday, and I will give great updates as much as I can. I hope the night(s) go well and my mom can handle my babies. I love her so much for doing this for me.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Ebay Giftcard, Car Update, Sample Tuesday
Thanks to Influenster, once again, I got my reward from my first campaign I finished with them - a $25 Ebay giftcard.
Click for larger. Received code for giftcard.
My first campaign was to write a few Ebay guides; in return for well-written guides, I received this $25 gift card. Not bad for a little bit of research and work! I used my giftcard already on a box of my absolute favorite Quest bars - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough! I am so excited to receive my yummy bars next week. This sort of reward makes me enjoy my time spent on Influenster tasks so immensely. Who wouldn't want to put a little time in like this for pretty good rewards? Use my affiliate link to join Influenster and see if you can qualify for similar campaigns!
I received a call from the insurance company that is responsible for the damage to my vehicle; the current estimate is (insert silly number that I laughed at) and we won't get the car back until about next Tuesday. That means we get to keep the cute, new Volkswagen Jetta until then and take it with us for our trip this coming weekend to Florida Country Superfest! We will be out on Saturday and Sunday; I will be sure to take pictures at the concerts since this was a freebie from our favorite local radio station. I will do a large post on Monday all about it.
I had great success with PINCHme's Sample Tuesday earlier today. Their website was a bit laggy but not nearly as bad as last month; I filled my cart and was checked out within five minutes. After that, however, I noticed the site was much laggier, so I am very glad that I was prepared and done so quickly. Multiple tabs helped a lot! I filled my box much quicker that way. I also have a toddler that's still in diapers, and a lot of the samples this month were baby and small child related (diapers, baby 3 in 1 shampoo, wash, bubble bath). As always I must thank PINCHme for the hookup and be thankful that I'm off on Tuesdays - it makes getting to a computer at noon much easier than if I was at work!
PLEASE VISIT ON FACEBOOK AT https://www.facebook.com/FreedomandFreebies!!!! I feature many other deals and freebies there that I am not listing on my blog, including coupon deals and free samples from various sites. I am working on becoming an affiliate review agent for Amazon as well I hope, so keep your fingers crossed - there should be even more interesting reviews out in the future.
Monday, June 8, 2015
Facebook Launch, CVS deals, Free Target Gift Card
It's officially official - I have created a Freedom and Freebies Facebook page!!! For all of you lurkers who don't like commenting on my Blogger posts, please visit us on Facebook and like my page to keep up to date as I post new blog entries and share posts from around different freebies sites. I want to build a great community of people who are genuinely interested in this sort of lifestyle that I lead and even start an exchange of ideas about getting items free or homesteading. I always appreciate any tips or other suggestions. Either way, click the link above and give us a like please!!!
I received a sample of Lucky Charms cereal in the mail today (which Chris promptly swiped for himself I do believe), and another envelope from Target. A couple of months back they had a promotion for making a college registry and getting a $20 gift card in return; well, my gift card did arrive from Target! With it and a number of coupons for Method laundry detergent, I'm going to try and get some mega deals without spending an extra cent on anything. I almost never shop at Target, so this will be a fun adventure for me.
I received a sample of Lucky Charms cereal in the mail today (which Chris promptly swiped for himself I do believe), and another envelope from Target. A couple of months back they had a promotion for making a college registry and getting a $20 gift card in return; well, my gift card did arrive from Target! With it and a number of coupons for Method laundry detergent, I'm going to try and get some mega deals without spending an extra cent on anything. I almost never shop at Target, so this will be a fun adventure for me.
Thanks for the chance to try out products free, Target!
I also did some shopping in CVS today; Chris is addicted to sodas, and 12 packs of Coke products are on sale there this week. On top of the 4/$12 deal, if you purchase a total of $30 worth of products you receive a $10 gift card - so basically if I spent another $18 I'd get $10 of it back anyways. Of course I took advantage of the deal! I got a pack of toilet paper, paper towels, and two boxes of cereal too. I now have a ten dollar gift card in hand to use in the near future as well (I love CVS, they are very reliable for good deals and the one by my job is the best CVS in the city easily).
$10 to spend at CVS as well - what shall we get?
I dropped my old whip off at the collision center of the car dealership in town and received the rental car - it's a Volkswagen Jetta! I've never driven such a new, expensive car as this; typically I have only driven American cars except for my cheap Hyundai. So far it's definitely a change; it's the first car I've been in that has a keyless start button and a few other features too. It has a lot more get up and go than I'm accustomed to, so I will keep getting used to it over the next couple of days and give some more feedback on it.
I'm planning to use some of one of these gift cards to buy one Dove Advanced Protection deodorant for the VirtualVox I have on my Influenster page; this way I won't have to spend money on it in actuality and I can still do all of the activities hopefully for another $10 gift card (from Walmart) from the badges for this "box". I hope that if I participate in depth on these activities from Influenster that I'll have a better chance of getting in on the really exclusive VoxBox items and other campaigns.
I will reiterate - click the link in the first paragraph and give us a like!!! Keep it freebie!
Sunday, June 7, 2015
Rare Opportunity, PINCHme's Sample Tuesday, Facebook
So tomorrow will offer a rare opportunity for me; I get to "test drive" a car for about three days! My car was rear ended this past Thursday morning, and the other driver's insurance is paying for my (very slightly damaged) car to be repaired at a dealership's shop; while my car is getting pampered, I get a free rental car! I will let you know about what type of car it is tomorrow - all I know is "mid-sized" but I am not sure of anything else yet. Not many reviewers get to do in depth car testing like this on someone else's dime... but I might as well make an opportunity out of it!
Tuesday is also "Sample Tuesday" for all of my fellow PINCHers; let's hope that they have upgraded their website since last month's fiasco. It took me forever to fill my box due to repeatedly dealing with a crashed website. If you want to be successful, I suggest utilizing multiple tabs and swooping in immediately when the clock strikes noon EST. I was able to fill my box last month with complete perseverance and domination of the internet (hahaha). I wonder what kind of cool samples will be available for me this month?
I took the plunge and started a fan site on Facebook for my blog; please like us at https://www.facebook.com/FreedomandFreebies to keep up with interesting articles, shared deals, tips and tricks, pictures from my homestead, and anything else that may strike my fancy as being "Freedom and Freebies" appropriate. I really do want to build a reader base for my blog with some extra interaction from others as well I hope; I want to supply everyone with the knowledge and know how to get more freebies (and freedom!) in their lives.
Keep it freebie!
Tuesday is also "Sample Tuesday" for all of my fellow PINCHers; let's hope that they have upgraded their website since last month's fiasco. It took me forever to fill my box due to repeatedly dealing with a crashed website. If you want to be successful, I suggest utilizing multiple tabs and swooping in immediately when the clock strikes noon EST. I was able to fill my box last month with complete perseverance and domination of the internet (hahaha). I wonder what kind of cool samples will be available for me this month?
I took the plunge and started a fan site on Facebook for my blog; please like us at https://www.facebook.com/FreedomandFreebies to keep up with interesting articles, shared deals, tips and tricks, pictures from my homestead, and anything else that may strike my fancy as being "Freedom and Freebies" appropriate. I really do want to build a reader base for my blog with some extra interaction from others as well I hope; I want to supply everyone with the knowledge and know how to get more freebies (and freedom!) in their lives.
Keep it freebie!
Saturday, June 6, 2015
Garden Pics
Well, just prepare yourself for a bit of a garden overload. I spent a fair amount of time working out there tonight since I had to water it; I pulled a good bit of weeds and took some quick snapshots of some of the happier plants that I have.
My first Darkstar zucchini is trying to grow... talk about late!
My tallest dill plants are about 3.5 ft tall and blooming.
These jalapenos make me smile; they are beautiful.
Lavender is still putting out flowers.
My sunflowers are really close to exploding.
Brandywine tomatoes finally starting to flower.
The potatoes that I was growing are pretty much a bit of a failure; they were very small and just not worth my time. The soil here is just way too poor to grow these potatoes. They should have been planted deeper, probably, too. All of the herbs are doing well (basil, dill, chives, tarragon) especially. Eggplant is probably struggling the most; watermelon vines are slowly growing and starting to have baby blooms. My onion is doing well it would seem, and I recently tried planting green garlic to maybe grow some garlic bulbs. This is a first for me, so I don't know if they will do anything.
We still have eight healthy chicken babies and the two older hens. I bring a lot of free food from my job home for them, especially things with grains and seeds; they are very fond of sesame seeds, meat salads (chicken salad, tuna salad), cooked grains like quinoa and rice, and corn of course. They also are fans of bread because they can pick at it easily and tear off pieces to munch on. I need to go through my pantry and see if there's more in there that we can't eat at this point that I can perhaps feed to them; they are starting to require more food and I don't know if I can keep up with the demand entirely from a "freebie" perspective. I can get a surprisingly large amount of free things though so I might be able to, especially on days where there are a lot of bulk write offs or plenty of quinoa salads (I brought nine deli containers of salads, three sets of six rolls, and two bags of flax seed meal home today which is enough for a couple of days' worth of food for them).
I did a campaign qualifier recently for BzzAgent for coffee and tea; I hope that I get picked for something super special! I am such a huge coffee and tea fan that I drink it almost as much as (or more than) water. It's a huge reason that I have to buy a whole case of organic whipping cream every month - I can't live without my coffee! I've started drinking more tea too, especially since I've found that I like Earl Grey and Jasmine Green teas. BzzAgent, hook this lady up! I will never let you down when it comes to getting the tasks done and spreading some Bzz around about things that I like!
Keep it freebie folks! Leave me some comments, questions, anything, and I will definitely respond.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Women's World Cup VirtualVox
I got invited to a THIRD Influenster campaign today; this particular VirtualVox is in honor of this year's Women's World Cup tournament. The tasks were very simple and indirectly related to the WWC; I have actually already completed all of the available tasks and anxiously await my fate in terms of the prizes that are available for those who have gotten their WWC Badge! The top 200 people get a MegaBox of prizes (a variety of items from Influenster, similar to a VoxBox but maybe better...?) and the top 100 get a shiny tote bag from Influenster too. Cross your fingers.
For the Nurture VoxBox I'm working through some of the brand badges; I have already unlocked the VoxBox overall badge. Some tasks might be difficult to complete (I don't have my package of Red Vines anymore because they all got eaten and I don't know where they put the package afterwards lol), but I'll do my best to finish it up. Some of the prizes are pretty nice! Some of the tasks are just mildly annoying, but I'm trying to put most of my advertising posts on less used forms of social media (Twitter, Instagram, etc)... I don't like using my Facebook for these sorts of posts, but sometimes I have to for that specific task.
I think Influenster is officially my favorite "freebie" site now. I love BzzAgent too, but it seems like it might be easier to qualify for campaigns with Influenster (and they really show the love with the invites lately; I have so many tasks to do with three active campaigns) and they have definitely shelled out the rewards (so far my VoxBox and also a $25 Ebay gift card which is still on the way). If I keep myself busy with their tasks, though, I am sure that they'll want me to do more campaigns for them - the more I do now, the more COOL stuff I can qualify for later.
If you want to join through myself, please give me your email address and I can send you the info; there is no affiliate link for Influenster, but I can directly refer you through my own account. I also have affiliate links for a variety of other websites (Schoola, Beauty Kind, PINCHme, BzzAgent, and a few others). If I am a member of something you are interested, I'll gladly supply my wisdom!
Keep it freebie as always!
For the Nurture VoxBox I'm working through some of the brand badges; I have already unlocked the VoxBox overall badge. Some tasks might be difficult to complete (I don't have my package of Red Vines anymore because they all got eaten and I don't know where they put the package afterwards lol), but I'll do my best to finish it up. Some of the prizes are pretty nice! Some of the tasks are just mildly annoying, but I'm trying to put most of my advertising posts on less used forms of social media (Twitter, Instagram, etc)... I don't like using my Facebook for these sorts of posts, but sometimes I have to for that specific task.
I think Influenster is officially my favorite "freebie" site now. I love BzzAgent too, but it seems like it might be easier to qualify for campaigns with Influenster (and they really show the love with the invites lately; I have so many tasks to do with three active campaigns) and they have definitely shelled out the rewards (so far my VoxBox and also a $25 Ebay gift card which is still on the way). If I keep myself busy with their tasks, though, I am sure that they'll want me to do more campaigns for them - the more I do now, the more COOL stuff I can qualify for later.
If you want to join through myself, please give me your email address and I can send you the info; there is no affiliate link for Influenster, but I can directly refer you through my own account. I also have affiliate links for a variety of other websites (Schoola, Beauty Kind, PINCHme, BzzAgent, and a few others). If I am a member of something you are interested, I'll gladly supply my wisdom!
Keep it freebie as always!
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Schoola, BeautyKind, Ice Cream!
Today I finally got some long awaited deliveries, including a new skirt from Schoola. The first one I had ordered, a Dockers brand product, was kind of oddly cut for my style and desires. The one I received today, however, was much nicer and very cute (looks new). It's almost vintage style, and it makes me wish I could wear heels just to buy a red pair to go with it... it's all about that pop of red with vintage style I think. I really have never tried to pull something like that off! I really do love Schoola because it's a good cause, but I also am very happy to get free items from them through their incentives program. Please use my affiliate link to join and purchase products - we will BOTH get free credit on their site for your initial purchases!
My first BeautyKind order finally came; this website is a similar idea as Schoola, except you get to pick your charity (Schoola donates to random schools depending on what item you buy). I picked the Juvenile Diabetes Research organization, and I got a $50 credit on my first purchase at this website, too. They sell designer body care products, and I spent $10 of my own money to receive my $60 bottle of Chocolat perfume. I kind of like it; it's a different fragrance and could work on men or women I think. I'm going to try and get a shower tonight and maybe use a bit afterwards to smell a little special (hehe).
My first BeautyKind order finally came; this website is a similar idea as Schoola, except you get to pick your charity (Schoola donates to random schools depending on what item you buy). I picked the Juvenile Diabetes Research organization, and I got a $50 credit on my first purchase at this website, too. They sell designer body care products, and I spent $10 of my own money to receive my $60 bottle of Chocolat perfume. I kind of like it; it's a different fragrance and could work on men or women I think. I'm going to try and get a shower tonight and maybe use a bit afterwards to smell a little special (hehe).
My new ice cream maker. Worked like a charm.
I finally was able to make my first batch of ice cream tonight at home with my new Hamilton Beach ice cream maker. It worked great!!! I made chocolate mint flavored ice cream that is low carb; all I used was heavy cream, Swerve, cacao powder, mint extract, vanilla extract, and a little salt. It is SOOOO good. The girls and I ate almost the entire batch immediately; Amelia was especially fond of my concoction. I will surely be doing this on a regular basis in the near future (except that buying that much cream is expensive). I have a good variety of extracts on hand for the sake of making tons of different ice creams!
Yeah, it's pretty soft here; I was very impatient.
There was no more waiting to be had, I needed this in my life.
I had a couple of new campaign qualifier sureys on BzzAgent today, so I am hoping to join a new campaign soon. One was for coffee and tea, so I am SUPER hopeful on that one! I love my coffee maker and it makes great tea, too; I definitely would love to do that campaign! I've had a few new "Snaps" on Influenster (their version of qualifier surveys), so I hope to see myself doing something new for them too (I did get in on a Virtual Vox, but I wish they'd give us coupons for the product instead of making us buy our own products out of pocket).
Keep it freebie! Sign up for some of the sites I use; they are GREAT networking sites and actually help you make new contacts on social media platforms (I have people liking my pins a lot on Pinterest because of my VoxBox tasks).
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Attitude Shampoo, Hada Lobo Mask, Non-Drowsy Dramamine
I'm going to do a few quick reviews of some of the products I received for free in my Nurture VoxBox; as always, these opinions are my real, true thoughts of the product that I have gotten for free from Influenster and the respective companies.
The ATTITUDEliving shampoo I received is for color treated hair, which is definitely appropriate for my hair. I like the scent a lot because grapefruit is a favorite of mine, and I like that the brand really tries to avoid chemicals and steer more towards being a natural product. It lathered well and seemed to clean my hair well without doing any kind of damage or causing it to break (I have very awful hair that is fine, fragile, and frizzy). I enjoyed using this shampoo for the first time, and I will continue to use it as time goes on. It IS a whole, full sized shampoo, and with such a small amount of hair I don't have to use much! You can find #ATTITUDEatTarget .
After my shower I used my Hada Lobo mask. It has hyaluronic acid, which does have a weird gooey after texture on the skin until it fully absorbs. The product made my kids think that I looked like a ghost (my four year old was especially freaked out), and I did feel a little silly wearing it for ten minutes. Afterwards, though, my face did feel a bit refreshed and it did have more moisture than it would have otherwise. I don't like the goopy feeling it leaves, but eventually it goes away once the liquid fully goes into the skin. The mask doesn't smell and is very wet with serum; I think the mask could possibly be less wet and still just as effective without wasting so much product. I felt kind of bad throwing the mask away after one use because it was still sopping wet with product. I understand that the mask is a deep hydration treatment, but for my personal self it was not a favorite product of mine; I would much prefer to just use a good moisturizer as needed. This particular product would probably be a lot better for someone with much dryer skin than I have.
The thing I love about the non-drowsy Dramamine product the most is that it is all natural and simply made from a ginger extract. Ginger is well known as a super remedy for nausea, and it's one of the very few natural remedies that is tested as being effective for nausea of all types (there's an episode of MythBusters that focuses on this). We are going on a long car ride soon, and I will definitely utilize my Dramamine. I also love that, even for people that are unable to take regular over the counter medications, this gives them an option too to ease their stomachs! I'm very happy to find a remedy that is all natural becoming widely available to all.
CVS has Colgate Optic White toothpaste for $3; they have an in-store coupon for $2 off and I had a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off, meaning that all I paid on the product was $0.23 in tax. Get into CVS for your (basically) free toothpaste this week if you have Colgate coupons! Pretty darn good deal if you ask me; can't complain for buying a full size product for $0.23. I definitely will keep my eyes out, as always, for similarly good deals. I need to find somewhere that sells Method laundry products for a fair price - anyone know a place as such? I have three coupons for $3 each off of any laundry product!
Thanks to Influenster for helping me keep it freebie!
The ATTITUDEliving shampoo I received is for color treated hair, which is definitely appropriate for my hair. I like the scent a lot because grapefruit is a favorite of mine, and I like that the brand really tries to avoid chemicals and steer more towards being a natural product. It lathered well and seemed to clean my hair well without doing any kind of damage or causing it to break (I have very awful hair that is fine, fragile, and frizzy). I enjoyed using this shampoo for the first time, and I will continue to use it as time goes on. It IS a whole, full sized shampoo, and with such a small amount of hair I don't have to use much! You can find #ATTITUDEatTarget .
After my shower I used my Hada Lobo mask. It has hyaluronic acid, which does have a weird gooey after texture on the skin until it fully absorbs. The product made my kids think that I looked like a ghost (my four year old was especially freaked out), and I did feel a little silly wearing it for ten minutes. Afterwards, though, my face did feel a bit refreshed and it did have more moisture than it would have otherwise. I don't like the goopy feeling it leaves, but eventually it goes away once the liquid fully goes into the skin. The mask doesn't smell and is very wet with serum; I think the mask could possibly be less wet and still just as effective without wasting so much product. I felt kind of bad throwing the mask away after one use because it was still sopping wet with product. I understand that the mask is a deep hydration treatment, but for my personal self it was not a favorite product of mine; I would much prefer to just use a good moisturizer as needed. This particular product would probably be a lot better for someone with much dryer skin than I have.
The thing I love about the non-drowsy Dramamine product the most is that it is all natural and simply made from a ginger extract. Ginger is well known as a super remedy for nausea, and it's one of the very few natural remedies that is tested as being effective for nausea of all types (there's an episode of MythBusters that focuses on this). We are going on a long car ride soon, and I will definitely utilize my Dramamine. I also love that, even for people that are unable to take regular over the counter medications, this gives them an option too to ease their stomachs! I'm very happy to find a remedy that is all natural becoming widely available to all.
CVS has Colgate Optic White toothpaste for $3; they have an in-store coupon for $2 off and I had a manufacturer's coupon for $1 off, meaning that all I paid on the product was $0.23 in tax. Get into CVS for your (basically) free toothpaste this week if you have Colgate coupons! Pretty darn good deal if you ask me; can't complain for buying a full size product for $0.23. I definitely will keep my eyes out, as always, for similarly good deals. I need to find somewhere that sells Method laundry products for a fair price - anyone know a place as such? I have three coupons for $3 each off of any laundry product!
Thanks to Influenster for helping me keep it freebie!
Monday, June 1, 2015
Nurture VoxBox has arrived!
Best "mail call" yet for this mama since starting the blog.
Alright, my very first VoxBox campaign from Influenster arrived today. I love receiving free products, and even if I have to do a little bit of "homework" in the process; this VoxBox is full of cool items, and Influenster sends full size items so we can try them for a long term basis. I don't do videos much (or really ever), but I did a video during my "unveiling" of my Nurture VoxBox as part of my homework. It gives a great rundown of what products I have inside!
My first YouTube video just for a set of products. Eek!
As time goes on and I am able to try these out, I will definitely come with the feedback (or from whichever family member tries it, seeing as how I don't eat candy, potatoes nor rice) and give it right here on my blog and my other social media sites as well. I really am enjoying this part of the Influenster nation though; their tasks are very straightforward and not too difficult to complete. I really want to increase my social media presence, but it's hard seeing as how I don't have a circle of friends or a good way of advertising what I do. Either way, I definitely hope that I get more VoxBoxes in the future to try items for free in return for my unbiased opinions of them. It's the entire reason I created this blog in the first place (and I've grown to absolutely love doing this!).
I fed myself a free dinner of cooked bell peppers and onions mixed with a bit of my bacon left over from work's brunch bar yesterday (I did pay for the bacon, but only about $3, and it fed me for multiple days). I never realized how delicious bacon was mixed in with cooked peppers and onions! I am so glad I thought to add them in the mix; the salty bacon really worked deliciously with the sweet, tangy peppers and onions.
Home cooked birthday dinner on the cheap.
I also used my Hamilton Beach immersion blender to make my version of bulletproof coffee (I have MCT oil but don't usually use it; I like stevia and a little Splenda with a mix of heavy cream and salted butter - sweet and salty is my THING) as a dessert of sorts. I really love coffee, and buying that immersion blender has made putting a bit of butter in my coffee MUCH easier due to less clean up afterwards. It was a great purchase for basically nothing since I used my Walmart.com app credits for it!
Happy birthday to me - I even lit one of my extra candles that I've had for a long time to "celebrate". My house eternally smells pretty funky (old houses and old carpet just are terrible), so this is a nice way to feel calmer with a nice candle glow and have the area around me smell lovely. This scent is Oakmoss and Amber (think of a nice men's cologne sort of smell).
Makes sitting at the table working much nicer.
So I'm hoping to start the reviews of some items tomorrow, especially the shampoo (it's shower night and I actually am just running out of my old bottle of shampoo). The ATTITUDE brand shampoo is being carried at Target supposedly, and this one that I received is for color treated hair - which, of course, my hair is color treated since I did do a blog on it about a month ago! I also will go use my coupons for my free Uncle Ben's and OreIda products (probably at Publix or Winn Dixie) on Wednesday or Thursday after work.
Keep it freebie! I will be excited to receive some of the other items that should be in transit (Schoola skirt and my Chocolat perfume eventually - that one has not shipped yet but I bet they are super back logged after their promotion that I took part in).
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Two Days' Worth of Items
I haven't gotten anything good in the mail lately (especially since today is Sunday, haha), so I have a few tidbits from yesterday and today to pass along. Nothing too major, but I do like to keep posting so I don't start slacking too much with the blog!
Firstly, I have come to quite enjoy using two Splenda tabs with my organic stevia; it cuts some of the very mild bitter flavor from the stevia and makes a sweetness combination that really appeals to me. Today I just kept my little box of tabs in my pocket and pulled it out for coffee time.
Firstly, I have come to quite enjoy using two Splenda tabs with my organic stevia; it cuts some of the very mild bitter flavor from the stevia and makes a sweetness combination that really appeals to me. Today I just kept my little box of tabs in my pocket and pulled it out for coffee time.
This stuff is starting to grow on me.
It works really great combined with my stevia.
Also on the "freebie" side of life, I have been getting tons of written off food items and passing them along to my chickens. They seem to really love chicken salad (is it wrong that I am somewhat turning them into cannibals?) and other softer items... and apples! I dice the apples and other larger veggies up a bit so they can pick at the insides better. Since we are out of grain to feed them, I think the free items from work that humans don't want (or won't eat) will become my primary method of feeding my chickens. I have enough in my fridge still to feed them for a few days on top of whatever I'll get on Wednesday when I go back to work. I'm glad chickens will eat pretty much anything! On a sad note, we've lost our rooster (disappeared three days ago), one more chick (Chris stepped on it; we have eight left)... and I haven't seen our other hen today (she might be hiding out under my house AGAIN). I hope at least the second hen turns up.
So, here we go again with garden related items. My first issue came up when I went out to check on my zucchinis that are growing (I had three that were pretty good sized and not far from needing to be picked). I took a close look at one of them and noticed something... amiss.
Snails are NOT friends of the garden.
Don't get me wrong, I kind of think snails are cute, but I find that my enjoyment of snails greatly decreases when I find them devouring one of the few squash I have in my garden. Needless to say, this group of snails went to the concrete and got obliterated by my foot. I am going to have to keep a close eye out for more; I found this huge one yesterday on my stevia and relocated it to my chickens' pen area eventually.
Found this guy on my stevia yesterday.
My daughter (4 y.o.) was NOT amused and wanted it off her.
I am looking at a good jalapeno harvest I think, however. My potted pepper plant looks very nice and is starting to get loaded with blooms and baby fruit. I got a great picture of it from a funny angle!
One of my favorite garden pics.
Jalapenos are on the way; this plant is very healthy.
I am not the biggest fan of hot peppers, but I'll find some way of using these guys, even if it's a very minute amount in stir frys that I do for myself with other veggies. I know better than to use the inside ribs or the seeds though; they are way too spicy for my tastes and not removing them in the past made me waste a whole set of stuffed peppers I was doing! (Great tip for those of you not familiar with hot peppers - the white "ribs" and the seeds are the hottest parts; carefully removing all of those and just using the greener parts of the pepper - or whatever color your pepper is - will remove a large part of the spice of it!)
The herbs are especially growing well; I don't have any pictures that do them justice, but my dill, basil and chives are all thriving in their respective parts of the garden or the pots. I did take a picture of my four or five foot bed where I have a few plants living - including my huge peppermint plant.
Leftmost: Purple bell peppers (yeah they are tiny)
Middle: monstrous peppermint bush.
Far right: Lavender plant which has been doing better.
I'm really hoping my two little purple bell pepper plants greatly increase their growth rate sometime this season so I can get a couple of peppers from them perhaps. They really are struggling, but the topmost one especially is growing albeit in a super slow fashion. I'd say this peppermint bush, at the widest point, is close to three feet wide... and it definitely is still growing. I had to push it back from the peppers so they could get a bit more light and have space to grow.
I ate for free for a few days thanks to a lot of free squash (today the last bit of those went to the chickens; they were getting mushy). I made a few dishes, one of which was free tomato basil goat feta mixed in the pan cooked squash.
Pretty good tasting dish for being entirely free.
Feeding myself, since I eat so little processed foods and no grains, is never a cheap matter if it involves me shopping. I am glad to take home a few very slightly imperfect veggies so I get to have free meals for a little bit. The chickens even appreciate them once they get too mushy!
How are y'all keeping it freebie? I would love to hear from anyone that wants to comment or chat about homesteading, either. Leave me some feedback!
Friday, May 29, 2015
Homestead Overload
I haven't received anything new in a few days, so this post will definitely be focused on my homestead today. The garden is starting to get ready for phase 2 of the summer season; I have blooms starting on my tomatoes, peppers, sunflowers, and watermelon plants.
Jalapeno; two white blooms with more close to this size.
Sunflower with a bloom starting to grow.
Watermelon bloom is the white in the middle of the picture.
Not only are the plants with edible fruit or seeds doing well, my herbs are looking nice too. I have large dill plants, quite a few nice looking basil plants, my huge peppermint bush, lavender, tarragon, and chives and stevia below along with a non-edible citronella plant.
Chives; three total bunches growing.
Not edible, but citronella keeps the mosquitoes away on the porch.
Stevia, about three feet tall.
Might try brewing teas with these tossed in.
Today at work I scored a large box full of produce (apples and yellow squash). The squash were very edible, so not only did I cook some for myself (after I pan sauteed it I mixed it with some free goat feta I got - great meal for tomorrow) - I used three squash and two apples, diced up together, as chicken food today. They loved it and were so excited!
Starting to really get large amounts of food for these guys.
Got so much today still have more for tomorrow.
Now that I'm really focusing on getting them free things from work, I'm starting to notice more and more things that they'd really enjoy. These squash really were beautiful, and the apples only had a few deep bruises on them, which the chickens of course don't give a hoot about!! If I keep looking for good freebies at work for these guys they will eat in high style for a long time to come.
I started using a free genealogy program (love open source projects), Gramps. It was highly rated on a couple of websites, and it is serving my purposes nicely. After learning the basics of how to use it, I can quickly add on information without too much hassle and can go back later to add events (births, deaths, etc) when I am done with the basic tree. My cousin can be blamed for my sudden vault back into this sort of thing; I love doing it, but I admittedly get burned out after a while. Right now it's full swing ahead! I am doing each grandparents' tree separately as I can.
Keep it freebie folks!
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Genealogy, Garden Dinner, VoxBox Shipped!
One of my older cousins has decided to collaborate a bit in the spirit of creating a family tree. Genealogy is an avid interest of mine, but I admittedly only do it every once in a while. When he asked me about our tree, I got interested and started working on a record of sorts of our own family tree from our mutual grandmother's side. Using FREE resources through Rootsweb and other online search projects, I am easily able to find most of my paternal grandmother's family tree with a few holes here and there. My other family members are more difficult from a free standpoint, but I highly suggest Rootsweb if your family has a well-documented genealogy.
Tonight I'm cleaning out some items out of my fridge and using a zucchini in my garden to make a squash hash of sorts. I am using a yellow squash (free from work), my zucchini, and a leftover hunk of summer sausage. I diced them all up...
Tonight I'm cleaning out some items out of my fridge and using a zucchini in my garden to make a squash hash of sorts. I am using a yellow squash (free from work), my zucchini, and a leftover hunk of summer sausage. I diced them all up...
Before being cooked... diced to perfection! Looks pretty.
I seem to be one of the few people out there that prefers her veggies cooked down a bit to where they are soft. I cooked this down with some spices and a dash of lemon juice (I cook with lemon ALL the time); once most of the liquid cooked out this is what I was left with.
Finished dish. This is DELICIOUS.
Needless to say, I couldn't resist eating a bit of this immediately. It tastes SO amazing. It's one of the best foods I've eaten in a long time, and it's perfectly on plan for me (fresh cooked, very little carb, good amount of healthy fats - also cooked this stuff in about 3T of butter too).
Lastly, I am super excited to announce that my first VoxBox from Influenster has shipped today! My dashboard on their page shows a tracking number, and I should have it arrive sometime next week. Free things are super awesome, and I am really hyped up for my first box with full sized samples to really go through and use; in return all of these products get my unbiased opinion about their items. I love getting things for free, and I greatly appreciate Influenster for picking me for the Nurture VoxBox.
My perfume still is not here; I am going to be checking my account soon to see if I can get an expected delivery date. I am sure it will arrive any time but it has been a while now.
Keep it freebie folks.
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