Today’s Groupon deal is $25 for $50 worth of apparel at the Gap, which is a pretty great deal!

Here are the conditions:

1. Expires Nov 19, 2010.
2. Limit 1 per person.
3. Valid in-store at US and Canada Gap stores only.
4. Not valid at Gap Outlet, Factory, Generation, or online.
5. Not valid for GiftCards, tax, or w/other offers.
6. $50 minimum purchase.

The gift card can be used on any item in-store, including sale items.

These are the complete terms and conditions according to the Groupon site:

Offer valid from August 19, 2010 through November 19, 2010 in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico) and Canada only at Gap stores. Not valid online or at Gap Outlet, Gap Factory Store or The Gap Generation stores. Valid at babyGap, KidsGap, and GapBody. Not valid on Keds® and Robeez®, or diaper bags and strollers at babyGap. Offer is good for one time use only and Groupon must be surrendered at time of in-store purchase. Discount applies to Gap merchandise only, not to GiftCards or applicable taxes. No adjustments on previous purchases. The value of the merchandise purchased must be at least $50. Not valid for cash or cash equivalent. Offer cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts, including Reward Cards and the Gap Inc. employee discount. If Groupon is not redeemed by the expiration date above, it may be redeemed for a $25 Gap GiftCard in U.S. and Canada Gap stores only. Not responsible for lost or stolen Groupons. Offer is not transferable. Cashiers: enter the code in the bottom-right corner of the Groupon.

If you’re interested, check out today’s Groupon deal here!

photo credit: abbamouse

We’re pretty sure that the kid is going to start homeschooling either after this year’s pre-k or after kindergarten, since I really am not too sure about commuting an hour and ten minutes each way to and from school. As a result, we are always looking for new ways to introduce school-related stuff without it being too painful.

As I was flipping through Parents magazine (I have no idea why we are still getting it; we had a one-year free subscription after the kid was born. He’s four now, so I am pretty sure it ran out!), I saw an ad for Reading Eggs and decided to check it out. There was a code in the magazine for a free trial lasting five weeks, so we signed up. Turns out, the kid loves it! He knows his letters and some of the sounds that letters make, but he had not started reading until this program.

I am not a teacher, but it looks like the program uses a combination of a phonics and sight words approach. The kids earn different characters as they “crack the reading egg” at the end of the lesson, which my kid really likes. There are 100 lessons currently, and the website says that it is geared towards children ages 4-8. No prior reading experience is necessary.

In terms of customer support, we had a small technical issue, and upon e-mailing technical support, we got a response within 2 business days and a 3-week trial extension for the inconvenience.

If you want to try it out, the code we used in the Parents magazine was USA26PAR. According to the advertisement, the offer is good through September 30, 2010. Let me know what you think!

photo credit: ninjapoodles

Here is the Sunday newspaper coupon insert schedule for 2010.  Enjoy!

January
01/03/2010 – 2 SmartSource, 2 RedPlum & General Mills
01/10/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
01/17/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
01/24/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
01/31/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

February
02/07/2010 – SmartSource
02/14/2010 – No Inserts This Week
02/21/2010 – SmartSource, General Mills & Procter & Gamble
02/28/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

March
03/07/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
03/14/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
03/21/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
03/28/2010 – 2 SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble

April
04/04/2010 – No Inserts This Week
04/11/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
04/18/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
04/25/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

May
05/02/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
05/09/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
05/16/2010 – 2 SmartSource & RedPlum
05/23/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
05/30/2010 – No Inserts This Week

June
06/06/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
06/13/2010 – SmartSource
06/20/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
06/27/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

July
07/04/2010 – No Inserts This Week
07/11/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
07/18/2010 – SmartSource
07/25/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

August
08/01/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
08/08/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
08/15/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
08/22/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
08/29/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble

September
09/05/2010 – No Inserts This Week
09/12/2010 – SmartSource & 2 RedPlum
09/19/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
09/26/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

October
10/03/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
10/10/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
10/17/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
10/24/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
10/31/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

November
11/07/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
11/14/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
11/21/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
11/28/2010 – No Inserts This Week

December
12/05/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
12/12/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
12/19/2010 – No Inserts This Week
12/26/2010 – No Inserts This Week

photo credit: plindberg

If you are looking for something fun and cheap to entertain the little ones, try making this sidewalk paint.  I found this recipe at Easy Fun School:

¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup cold water
6 to 8 drops of food coloring

Basically, add the water to the cornstarch until you reach the desired consistency.  Then add the food coloring!

We are going to make ours in some old Cool Whip containers so that we have lids for storage.  According to the website, if the paint dries out, just add more water. Also, since cornstarch is all natural, it won’t harm our plants.

I am going to make red, blue, and yellow so that the kid can mix the colors himself (free art lesson!).  Also, since food coloring can stain, we’re going to be sure to wear old clothes.  Have fun!

photo credit: biggertree

It has been quite some time since I have posted here, and with good reason.  I have been doing a lot of thinking of the direction that I would like to take this blog, and have finally solidified some ideas that will be materializing during the next couple of months.  So stay tuned… I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth!

photo credit: sixty69niner

Get a free .pdf of Suze Orman’s new book “Suze Orman’s 2009 Action Plan: Keeping Your Money Safe and Sound,” on Oprah’s website until 11:59 p.m. CT on Thursday, January 15 2009.  You can also use this page to register for a webcast that Suze Orman will be holding on January 15, 2009 at 9PM EST.  Hope that this helps someone out!

Sorry to have been out of the loop for a couple days!

photo credit: ninjapoodles

I don’t bother to buy a Sunday paper unless I know that there are grocery coupons in it.  In addition, I can get away with buying a local paper if there are only SmartSource inserts, but need to buy the larger city paper if Red Plum inserts are printed.  So, I am always interested in knowing the coupon insert schedule.

The original link that I found was here on GottaDeal.com.  I also included a cut and paste of the information below:

2009 Coupon Inserts Schedule

January
4 – 2 Smart Source & 2 Red Plum
11 — Smart Source & Red Plum
18 –Smart Source & Red Plum
25 –Smart Source & Red Plum

February
1 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
8 — Smart Source & Red Plum
15 –No Inserts scheduled
22 — Smart Source & Red Plum

March
1 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
8 — Smart Source & Red Plum
15 — Smart Source & Red Plum
22 — Smart Source only
29 — Smart Source & Red Plum

April
5 — 2 Smart Source & 1 Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
12 — No Inserts
19 — Smart Source & Red Plum
26 — Smart Source & Red Plum

May
3 — Smart Source & Red Plum
10 –Smart Source & Red Plum
17 — 2 Smart Source and 1 Red Plum
24 — No Inserts scheduled
31 — Smart Source & Red Plum

June
7 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
14 — Smart Source Only
21 — Smart Source & Red Plum
28 — Smart Source & Red Plum

July
5 — Procter and Gamble only
12 — Smart Source & Red Plum
19 — Smart Source Only
26 — Smart Source & Red Plum

August
2 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
9 — Smart Source & Red Plum
16 — Smart Source & Red Plum
23 — Smart Source & Red Plum
30 — Smart Source & Red Plum

September
6 — No SS or RP Inserts – Labor Day One Procter and Gamble
13 — 1 Smart Source & 2 Red Plum
20 — Smart Source & Red Plum
27 — Smart Source & Red Plum

October
4 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
11 — Smart Source & Red Plum
18 — Smart Source & Red Plum
25 — Smart Source & Red Plum

November
1 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
8 — Smart Source & Red Plum
15 — Smart Source & Red Plum
22 — Smart Source Only
29 — No Inserts scheduled

December
6 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
13 — Smart Source & Red Plum
20 — No Inserts scheduled
27 — No Inserts scheduled

Happy coupon clipping!

“It’s time I sling the baskets off this overburdened horse
Sink my toes into the ground and set a different course…”

- T. Anastasio, T. Marshall

photo credit: renatotarga

We had a wonderful New Year’s Eve with some friends, followed by a nice lazy New Years Day.  We’re going to be spending some quality time with friends and family over the next couple days, but after that I have every intention of starting this new year off with some ambitious goals.

I hope that everyone else is having a great weekend.  See you soon!

photo credit: craigCloutier

What’s a gal to do?  After a long conversation with the husband yesterday, we decided to ditch the idea of a netbook and shell out the extra money for a new desktop.  I had been researching desktops for awhile, and we took the plunge (We got a solid deal, which I’m sure I’ll talk about in another post).

Why so soon?  A big part of it has to do with my husband’s scanning project that he has been working on.  His grandfather was a photographer, and he is creating a digital archive of all of his work.  Not to sound morbid, but there are only a couple of relatives left who can help us document some of the images, and they really look forward to our trips home so that they can see the work my husband has done.  This is something that we can’t put a price tag on, and the laptop (MacBook) was giving us a bunch of compatibility issues when we would name and transfer files from one operating system to the other.  He has actually stopped working on the project for awhile, and has been anxious to start back up.

Second, I got a call yesterday from a friend who I have been wanting to collaborate with for awhile now.  It’s been one of those things where we get together and toss ideas around, but due to conflicting schedules, nothing has really materialized.  His schedule has freed up, and this is the kind of motivation I need to get back into programming.  He works on Macs exclusively, and I will need to upgrade to Leopard in order to work with him effectively.  Having another computer in the house will make the Leopard upgrade a little less nerve-wrecking.    In addition, with VMWare Fusion (which allows other operating systems to run on a Mac) taking up a whopping 40GB of my 60GB hard drive, it was time to put it on an “application diet” and reinstall it.  Having a new Windows machine makes this about 1000 times easier.

But now, I’m dealing with the nasty repurcussions.  Vista 64 has no interest in running my XP applications.  That’s a lot of fun.  Then, VMWare Fusion vomited today, (ironically, it was immediately after I tweeted someone about how great Fusion was) and I lost my OS.  Recovery was pretty lame, and reinstallation of the .NET framework to run the one program I need for tutoring was a complete failure.  Awesome.

Not to mention, we have guests coming for New Years, and I need to set up all my sites with HostGator within the next couple of days.

Any suggestions to deal with the technological chaos?  I’d love to hear them!