May's PINCHme, Numi Tea sample

Well, beyond being super busy at work with cleaning, keeping the shelves stocked, and helping customers, today was a super awesome day. How can a day not be awesome when it involves me picking up my FL Country Superfest tickets (and getting the days off to go!), getting a PINCHme box in the mail (woop!), and getting a three pack of KCup tea samples from Numi (yum, one is Earl Grey my favorite!). I am so happy to share with you the goodies I have!

May PINCHme box. I will use the body wash tonight; used Splenda in my tea.

I admit, I have come to LOVE a super smelly body wash; this one is a strong strawberry smell that is totally delicious! It rivals the tasty smell that my Garnier Fructis samples have (their volumizing line has a strawberry/berry type of smell too, which came in my Sample Source box). I will definitely report back with how good I smelled afterwards. Caress currently is my favorite body wash; I always smell awesome for quite a while afterwards and feel so clean because of it. If this is like that then I'll be happy!

I already used three of the Splenda Minis (each mini tab is equal to a half of a packet of Splenda). For me, to reach a level of sweetness that was okay in my Numi Aged Earl Grey tea, I needed three tabs. I do not taste any aftertaste or unpleasantness; unlike many other sweetners I have had, I only had to use a small and very reasonable amount to make my beverage sweet. It's a lot better than the mass market stevias like Pure Via, Truvia, Zing, etc. and on par with Equal.

Button on the bottom left dispenses tabs.

Three was perfect for my taste. Not bad tasting at all.

As always, my biggest complaint is that it's not an all natural sweetener. I'll always be partial to natural products and super high quality stevia in particular, but this isn't a bad product at all. I could definitely see myself using this; now they need to figure out a way to get heavy cream in a travel type container so I can have coffee anywhere. It would be nice not to be required to take my coffeemaker everywhere!

So, speaking of Numi Tea, I received a three pack of their teas in KCup form and tried the Aged Earl Grey (Earl Grey, so far, is my favorite type of tea to drink; I've only tried a few other teas).

Tomorrow I'll try the mint tea.

I will try the Jasmine Green, but I don't like green tea much.

My favorite! Glad this was in the pack.

The Aged Earl Grey was tasty; I like a splash of cream and sweetener in my tea and this tasted nice when it was done as such. I am a huge fan of bergamot so it's no surprise that Earl Grey is so tasty to me.

I am expecting my box any day now (!!!) with my designer fragrance that I purchased for $10. I also should have a VoxBox shipping soon that I get to complete activities with and do many, many blog posts on. Influenster is kicking butt, this is my second campaign since I joined. There will be many more to come, thanks Influenster.

Keep it freebie, folks.

Microwave Keto Cake, Candles

So, I have recently become obsessed with a concoction that is generally referred to as a microwave cake. The special thing about my microwave cake is that it is sugar free (I use Swerve erythritol powder) and low carb at only 5.2g for the entire cake. I purchased a Wilton silicone mold at Walmart recently; they had them on clearance where all of the cake baking items are located at. It's just the perfect size to contain my cake, so I cook it in this and can dump it out on a plate instantly after it's done and eat it as is. My favorite flavor so far is lemon! The recipe base that I use is here; I omit cocoa powder unless I'm making an actual chocolate cake and add whatever extracts I like to change the flavor up. I have plenty of all the ingredients already here at home (I especially have tons of almond flour right now), so I have been doing one of these a day.

Beyond typical errands for my other half, we were home all evening in the midst of quite a rain storm (I bet the garden is going to explode after this wet day). My stock of candles at work is desperately low, so I spent my afternoon making five different scents of 18 total candles. Even though it is time consuming, I was able to watch TV shows on my phone the entire time (current show I'm finishing up is a couple of seasons of Food Network Star). I am kind of sad, though, because I am totally out of a couple of fragrances and almost out of tins (only three left); however, I am totally broke and really can't afford to repurchase supplies. I desperately need to stop bleeding excess funds.

I do have great advice regarding car repairs; find a good AT HOME mechanic! Even though the results are somewhat mixed, I do trust my mechanic to get the job done right for the best price possible. He recently fixed my car's A/C - I needed a new compressor - for a low price. I'd prefer to give him a bit extra on the side and have him work out in my yard than take my car to a shop and pay three or four times the price ANY DAY!

Keep it freebie!

Garden Work, Free Chicken Food

I am always looking for a great deal for the family; today I had a revelation at work about what constitutes the entire family unit and freebies that benefit us. I realized that, when considering food at work that no one will eat, the chickens are a part of our unit and can greatly benefit from most of the inedible items. Today's haul for the chickens involved six large cans of matzo meal (unleavened bread crumbs ground to a semi-fine consistency) and a small bag of quinoa. I popped open one can of the matzo and opened the whole bag of quinoa and tossed it all out there for them to scratch and eat. I will start looking for produce scraps and other treats for them from other departments from now on. Even for my farm animals I'm gonna do my best to keep it freebie!

Today I was excited to see a few different plants making progress towards producing. Yesterday or the day before I noticed my jalapeno pepper in the pot starting to grow flower buds.

Click for larger image; quite a few buds popping up.

I admit that I am not hugely into spicy peppers, but I obviously am going to have to make a few exceptions this year with my success with this particular pepper plant. The other peppers are growing, but it is an extremely slow process because they are in the ground (poor soil) rather than in a pot (filled with rich potting soil as seen here). I hope I get some bell peppers before cold weather gets here.

I have a number of zucchinis well on their way to being full grown. I am hoping that I get a few more beyond those before the plants are totally done. My plants look kind of sad, but they do keep flowering and growing some new buds, so I am hopeful to see more of these arrive before I have to scrap the plants. The potatoes are still the same, as are many of the other plants, though I am seeing a lot of positives with my herbs especially. Basil, dill, and chives are all looking healthy and happy whether they are in the soil or in a pot. My repurposed onion is doing well in the ground still too!

Lastly, I am super happy to announce that I'm starting to see flower buds come in on my tomatoes!

Click for larger image; brandywine tomatoes starting to bud.

My tomatoes are organic brandywine variety; these are supposed to be large, rich tomatoes. This is my first time growing full sized tomatoes, so I am hoping they come out nicely. The previous two summers I had cherry tomatoes only. I have a lot of tomato plants, and most of them are close to this stage so I am hoping they all produce fine.

Tomorrow is a holiday here, so have a great Memorial Day and remember to keep our veterans in your mind. What they've done for us is give us our freedom, which is one of the few things that never has been free.

All Natural Low Prices

Today was a great day to leave work early; after working long, extra hours the other four days of this week I had to exit almost three and a half hours early to avoid going into overtime. I work at a natural foods market, and in my last Sample Source box I received a coupon for Seventh Generation Baby Wipes - $2 off. This most recent sales cycle at work these wipes went on sale for $2.99, and I also get an extra 20% off as my employee discount. Woodstock Farms also has all of their frozen veggies on sale for various prices (I purchased non-gmo frozen edamame - on sale for $2.29) and these also have a $1 off coupon on each bag purchased (my bags, before my 20% employee discount, were $1.29 each). With all of my discounts, sale prices, and coupons I bought all three for about $2.25! Not bad at all considering this would have been over $10 at normal price.

My excitement over my free Florida Country Superfest tickets is, sadly, going to be short lived. The disadvantage of being so isolated on our homestead in the country is that we have no one to watch the children, and our lack of trust of others with our children does not facilitate easily finding someone in a short period of time to do it. I will be picking up the tickets on Wednesday after work, but I am not sure that it will come to fruition that I get to go. I desperately want to, but my fiance is not keen on the idea of staying with the kids while I go with anyone else (I kind of want to take my Dad as a Father's Day present a week before the actual holiday). I will try to very gently continue suggesting this idea for a little while. I really do not want to sell the tickets or even give them away unless I'm one of the people going.

My detergent sample from The Laundress was not very impressive; I used it in a small load of laundry and it smelled great going in, but I really didn't notice any pleasant smells that remained after the entire washing process. I'm sure in a much larger quantity I might have enjoyed it more, but from that small sample packet I was not very impressed overall. What I really need to do is find somewhere that has Method laundry products for a fairly low price; I still have a $3 off coupon for any Method laundry product and would love to get their laundry detergent to try. When I do try them I need to do a good review for PINCHme, who originally sent me the coupons in my sample box.

Hoping to see more samples and other free items arriving in the mail soon; I will try the in shower lotion sample by Nivea soon too. Be sure to keep it freebie and embrace your freedom too - loving this backwoods life, even through the struggles!

FL Country Superfest, VoxBox Update

This week is a rough one at work with tons of extra hours (I am leaving work fairly early tomorrow to cut back on the extra hours so I don't get a ton of overtime), but today has made up for a lot of the tiredness I have been dragging myself through over the past few days. First and foremost, thanks to one of my great local radio stations, I won Florida Country Superfest Tickets!!!

So excited; I've seen Kenny and Brantley before.

Zac Brown Band and Cole Swindell are current favorites.

Not only do I get to see two of the great acts in country music right now that I've already seen once (Kenny Chesney and Brantley Gilbert), I will get to see two of my personal favorites as of right now in Zac Brown Band and Cole Swindell. My birthday isn't far down the road, so I am calling this my birthday present to myself in essence. This is so wonderful though! We are too poor to go to anything like this on a regular basis, so winning these tickets gets me a couple of nights of fun without much of anything spent. Hey, I keep it freebie in ALL things when possible!

I also got a great email today informing me that I was a part of Influenster's newest, upcoming VoxBox campaign. I will be receiving samples (or coupons to buy things for free) of facial masks, shampoos, anti-nausea (natural) meds, diaper rash cream, OreIda frozen potato products, Uncle Ben's rice products, rope candy (like Twizzlers but a different brand), and a couple of other things I believe. It's an awesome box and I'll be getting to try everything for free in exchange for my feedback on the products; this is my first VoxBox, but I'm fairly sure it involves FULL SIZE samples, which rocks... this is what my blog and my at home activities are all about, trying things for free in exchange for my unbiased feedback! Use my special referral link here to sign up and get started, and maybe you will get a VoxBox invite soon too!

I got in some samples today of laundry detergent (small sample for a small load only) from The Laundress and a sample of Nivea's In-Shower Body Lotion. This product is very intriguing for me mostly because I do not like applying lotion (most of them feel so greasy!); the idea of a lotion you rinse off in the shower is much more attractive to me because it will hopefully not leave my skin with a lotion residue. I will give these a try soon (especially the shower lotion, probably tomorrow night) and get back with you on my opinion. I will actually use the laundry detergent packet now since I have a load of icky towels in need of some assistance and bring the feedback to you all tomorrow.

Lastly, I was able to use my remaining $10 Schoola credit yesterday. I purchased a quite nice looking skirt. Hopefully that will be in within the next few weeks so I can show that one off. Remember, if you are new to their website, you can get a free $15 credit along with another $10 credit for creating your own collection on their website too for $25 of FREE clothing. They have recently started free shipping again, so you should take advantage of the $25 available for free. Be sure to use my affiliate link here to get not only $15 for yourself but an extra $15 for yours truly! Schoola is a great cause to be a part of as well; they donate funds they receive to schools for programs and other incentives.

Keep it freebie! Exciting things coming in the next week or two to keep an ear out for.

Garden Updates, BeautyKind, Mail Call

What a busy day! I apologize for the spotty posts as of late, but I have been super busy with my nine to five job that pays the bills and keeps food on our table. Either way, I have a few exciting updates about homesteading stuff, items I've gotten free in the mail, and items that will arrive in the next week. I am going to save a new book picture and review for tomorrow, along with new pictures of the chickens hopefully and maybe a review or two.

So, today was my first official harvest from my garden! How happy am I?!

This guy was a bit over 6" long but super thick.

This is a Hurakan F1 variety of zucchini, typically used for stuffing (since it's so large as you see). So, since it is a perfect vessel so to speak, a vessel it became...

 Rubbed with olive oil and spices.

 Then filled with pizza sauce and pizza cheeses.

Baked and gooey. Not super tender so I picked them up to bite.

I'm very happy with the end product and have about three or four other ones in the middle of growing larger. My plants are not very productive this year mostly due to poor soil quality and overcrowding (that is my fault; I was lazy and didn't want to clear my whole yard for the garden). Next year I think I'll be able to grow my garden more effectively.

So, thanks to Hunt4Freebies as always, I found out about a website called BeautyKind. BeautyKind specializes in designer bodycare products; in any normal situation I would never purchase anything so expensive as these sorts of products. The disclaimer here is that, for now, BeautyKind has a coupon for $50 off of any purchase of $50 or more! With that in mind, I joined and found a product that was $60 that was in stock; $10 for a designer fragrance is nothing terrible at all, so I went ahead and took the plunge.

For $10, this was a deal. Fair Amazon reviews too.

So, not only can you get $50 off a $50 order, there also is a referral system where you can get $25 off your first order AND give me an extra $25 when you place your first order. Here's my affiliate link; sign up using this and you will give both of us $25 each upon your first order! The coupon code for $50 off of $50 is LOVE50. Also, BeautyKind donates to a charity of your choice (there's a list of about four or five I think) when you spend money on their site; I supported the JDRF International (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation).

Lastly, I found mail with samples that my other half neglected to hand over to me; I would imagine these came in yesterday's mail except the Cottonelle wipes (those did come in today with a coupon too for $1 off flush wipes or 12 pack or more of toilet paper).

I love my freebies! Three separate samples.

As I use these guys I'll try to get some feedback going. I've almost used all of the Colgate Optic White toothpaste from Sample Source; I think it's a great toothpaste and can see some results in terms of whitening (mild) and huge improvement in my teeth feeling clean (more noticeable honestly). I will use the Arm and Hammer toothpaste next since the other sample is almost gone.

Keep it freebie! Book write up tomorrow along with a Schoola shoutout (again) and anything else that might turn up in the meantime.

VoxBox Survey, Zucchini Almost Ready

I skipped posting yesterday (my fault!), but needless to say it was a day without any freebies in it or anything overwhelmingly interesting. We mostly spent the day running around doing errands for my other half and our wood refinishing business. Today will be a bit of a repeat of the same, but I do have some small updates I can pass along.

I got an email sometime this morning or last night from Influenster to be included in their next VoxBox campaign; think of getting a sample box from PINCHme or Sample Source but the items are larger in size on the inside, and you are expected to complete more in depth reviews and surveys regarding the product afterwards. Also, you are required to take a survey to even qualify for the box (not everyone will qualify based on the demographics they want). It has been a while since I did my first Influenster campaign (which I am to receive a $25 Ebay gift card for!), and their VoxBoxes look wonderfully fun to participate in. Since writing has always been my "thing", I am excited to continue to use my skills with the written word to express how much I liked (or disliked) products I try for free.

I have one zucchini that is particularly large in the garden; I am expecting to cut it off and eat it within the next day or two. I will probably post a picture tomorrow evening when I do my daily Wednesday post. Most of the rest of the garden is looking fine; potatoes should be ready to harvest relatively soon and sadly my collards have been eaten a SECOND time and probably won't make it til harvest. I think the chickens or squirrels are the culprits.

I also tried the Brazilian Sleek Garnier Fructis line last night (shampoo, conditioner, leave in conditioner); I actually kind of liked the products. The leave in is too heavy for my hair I think, but I like the smell of the products overall (a little fruitier than I normally would like, very tropical, but I can dig it) and it seems to have helped with frizz a bit. I don't have my typical whispy hair halo this morning yet, so I can at least approve of that. I will use the coupons that I have hopefully to double up with a sale and try it out in a larger size in the future.

Keep it freebie - I'm being told to hurry up so we can go, so I better GO!