Congrats to Aubrey, winner of the $25 Sam’s Club Gift Card!

I received a $25 Sam’s Club Gift Card, and you can win one, too! Don’t you love shopping at Sam’s? Buying in bulk can really save you money.

Here’s some information about the Sam’s Club Pink Promotion:

Beginning September 19th, Sam’s Club stores will feature exclusive pink packaging on some of your favorite participating General Mills products in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Purchase specially-marked General Mills products like Cheerios and Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies at your local Sam’s Club and help decide how half of that contribution will be donated by voting at PinkTogether.com from now until April 14, 2012. General Mills’ donations will be divided between two important Komen programs: the Treatment and Assistance Program, which assists women in securing care they otherwise may not be able to afford, and Prevention Research, which helps unlock the keys to preventing breast cancer. Voting results will be announced on Mother’s Day 2012.

I’d like to try the Fiber One Brownies, and of course I love Cheerios. But I’m thrilled that you get to vote to help decide how the contribution will be spent! I think it’s a great way for people to be involved and voice their opinions, and I hope that in the future programs like this will be created for other diseases, such as Psoriatic Arthritis.

You can win a $25 Sam’s Club Gift Card! Just leave a comment telling me which of your favorite General Mills products you are most excited to see featured in the Pink Promotion at Sam’s Club.

For bonus entries you can:

Optional Bonus Entries:

*Like Sam’s Club on Facebook

*Stumble any one of my blog posts.

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. I will chose a winner using Random.org and notify the winner by email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner. Giveaway ends October 31.

Disclosure: The information and gift card(s) have been provided by Sam’s Club and General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

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Congrats to Liz M, winner of the $25 Gift Card!

Kroger Cart Buster savings are back! Here’s some info about the program:

From July 31st through August 17th save on tons of brands across more than 100 categories from General Mills, PepsiCo, Unilever, Heinz, Mars, Wrigley and Kimberly Clark.

Don’t let the savings stop there! Make sure to follow the Cartbuster “Deal of the Day” beginning August 3rd and running through August 16th.* Download exclusive offers, on more of your favorite brands, directly to your shopper card, by visiting www.cartbuster.com, beginning Wednesday, August 3rd. You can also follow Kroger on their Facebook page here.

Here are some of the deals I got during the Cart Buster event:

Cascadian Farms Shoestring Fries $2 – Hooray for organics!

Diet Pepsi 2 Liter $1 – Perfect for an upcoming church event.

Peanut M&Ms $.50 – I got two packages because I had a coupon for $.75 off two! That means I spent $.25 for two packages of M&Ms!

Cascadian Farms Granola Bars $2.19 – That price was with an on the box coupon. I keep these organic granola bars in my desk at my part time job. They’re really yummy, and non-perishable food is great for the office.

There are some great deals to be had right now!

You can win One $25 Kroger gift card (Good at any of the Kroger. Co Family of Stores)! Just tell me which of your favorite products you are most excited to find savings on during the Cart Buster event at Kroger.

Optional Bonus Entries: Like A Young Wife’s Tale on Facebook and/or Stumble any one of my blog posts. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. I will chose a winner using Random.org and notify the winner by email. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, I will select a new winner. Giveaway ends August 27.

Disclosure: The Kroger gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Kroger and General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

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The winnner of the Fiber One Cereal Giveaway is Kasey!

My husband and I are currently living with my parents while we wait for our renters to move out of our house in Dallas. We were thrilled when our property manager called us in New Jersey to let us know we had renters who wanted to sign a two year lease. Now we’re thrilled to be back in Texas, even if we have to live with family for a bit.

One of the things you should know about me and my family is that we eat a LOT of fiber. As in, we have to be careful not to consume too much.
The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans say people should consume 25-38 grams of fiber daily, and that the average American consumes only 15 grams. But not us.

Brother #3 was up late recently. He didn’t want to wake anyone else up as he made a midnight snack, so he helped himself to a bowl of cereal without turning on the lights to find out what kind of cereal he was munching on. The cereal was so good that he ate another bowl. Keep in mind Brother #3 eats broccoli every single day. The next morning he woke up with a stomach ache and spent more time in the bathroom at work than his co-worker with a UTI!

Yes, Brother #3 had two huge bowls of Fiber One Cereal. It really does taste that good! My favorite is the Honey Clusters, and I like to sprinkle the Original Bran Cereal over my yogurt like granola. Fiber One’s Raisin Bran Clusters are yummy, too! Just be careful not to eat too much.

Visit Fiber One online for information on healthy living and additional ways to incorporate fiber into your diet. You can also print a coupon for Fiber One Cereal!

Giveaway: You can win a Fiber One cereal gift pack that includes 5 boxes of Fiber One cereal (Original®, Honey Clusters®, Raisin Bran Clusters®, Caramel Delight®, and Shredded Wheat®) for you to enjoy!

Mandatory entry: Tell me how you plan to incorporate Fiber One in your own diet plan –or- if you believe you are getting enough fiber in your diet.

For bonus entries you can:

*Follow me on Twitter and Tweet the following: Win a 5 Pack of Fiber One Cereal from @youngwifestale! http://wp.me/pvZfF-XP #myblogspark

or

*Like A Young Wife’s Tale on Facebook.

or

*Stumble any one of my blog posts.

Leave a separate comment for each entry. Giveaway ends August 1. I’ll select a winner using random.org, and email the winner. The winner will have 48 hours to respond before I select another winner.

Disclosure: General Mills provided me with the free product, information, and gift pack through MyBlogSpark. I was not required to write a review.

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We are home in Texas! It was slow going, driving a moving pulling a trailer with our car on top. David drove the entire trip. I’m thankful and surprised his psoriatic arthritis didn’t flare.

It is wonderful being surrounded by our family, friends, and a nice roadway system. The streets and highways are well paved and not covered in litter. It’s beautiful!

We’re enjoying salsa, enchiladas, Whataburger, and a yard for Henry.

Henry’s happy playing with Brother #2′s dog, Trixie.

David is working from home. So far it has gone very smoothly.

We’ve seen our chiropractor and learned that our insurance will cover our visits, including massage therapy. We just pay a small co-pay.

I saw my TMJ specialist, who practically made a new appliance for me. I wear mine down so quickly that he decided to cover the top in a composite that is much harder than the material he had used previously. It’s still softer than my teeth, but it’s pretty tough stuff.

We thank God for his provisions!

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Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family. Click here to read more great tips!

My husband David is gluten free, but we do not eat a lot of “gluten free” products. Gluten free pre-packaged foods like pasta and cookies are expensive, and they just don’t taste the same. We prefer to eat naturally gluten free things like potatoes and rice. I’ll make things like flan instead of cake. But, occasionally I do attempt to bake something gluten free. I’ve made gluten free muffins several times, and they’re always so dry.

This time, rather than throw out a bunch of muffins made with expensive gluten free flour, I decided to re-purpose them. I topped smashed the muffins a little bit with a fork, topped with strawberries and whipped cream and called it gluten free strawberry shortcake. David didn’t even realize they were the muffins. The juicy strawberries and whipped cream kept it from tasting too dry. It works for me!

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I don’t usually decorate for Valentine’s Day, but I did this year. I miss all the color we had in our house. I miss my Caribbean blue dining room. And my friend Maegan sent me this table cloth.

I changed out the the tray and hurricane I had used for a centerpiece for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love it when you can use pieces throughout the year!

The conversation hearts are cute, and it’s an easy way to decorate with candy (which means it’s inexpensive). But David and I don’t like conversation hearts, so we’re not tempted to eat the candy.

Using red in our living room works well with seasonal decor. Red works for fall decor, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July….

The banner is just yarn leftover from a knitting project, clothespins and scrapbook paper I cut into squares topped with scrapbook letters I bought on clearance at Michael’s. Easy and cheap!

Are you decorating for Valentine’s Day?

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Works for Me Wednesday is hosted by We Are THAT Family.

I want our apartment to look nice, but I don’t want to spend very much money on it. Whether we get to go back to our house in Texas, or whether we stay here in New Jersey, we won’t be living in this apartment for very long.

Here are some ways I’ve found to make our home cuter on the cheap.

Instead of a pile of dirty rags in the kitchen, I throw them in a basket I got from the Dollar Tree. You could also use a basket with a liner in your kitchen’s colors.

I covered the plastic jar Henry’s dog treats came in with pretty scrapbooking paper. Instead of looking at a picture of a strange dog, I see cute paper in colors that match my living room decor.

This is a cereal box covered in scrapbooking paper and a little Mod Podge. I use it to hold bills and forms. I would like to attach it to the side of the desk, but I’m not sure how I want to do that, yet. Maybe velcro so I can still take it off the desk and dump the papers out?

How do you decorate your home on the cheap?

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My tip today is simple. It’s what not to wear to Christmas parties.

Pink. Don’t wear a pink shirt, even if pink is your signature color. I looked like a Valentine surrounded by all the Christmas red at my mother’s family Christmas party last year.

If you’re looking for a fun way to wrap a cash gift, click here to check out what I did for my nephew last year.

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Recently I’ve started using my iPhone to help me with housework. I set up reminders in my gmail account for chores and my phone alerts me when it’s time. For instance, I get a reminder every Friday to change the sheets. I’ve even set up reminders for things like changing the air filter. You can also set up reminders in Outlook. Even if you don’t have a smart phone, email alerts are helpful.

It’s not a big deal, or a lot of pressure. The reminders just keep me on track with my housework. It’s also nice if you want to break down large cleaning and organizing projects into smaller chunks. You can remind yourself to do a little bit at a time. It works for me! How do you keep yourself on track as a homemaker?

If you’re looking for creative Christmas presents, read about my 12 Days of Christmas and 12 Days of Redneck Birthday.

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I wrote before about wanting to decorate our apartment, but not knowing if I should bother since we could be moving when our lease expires. I decided to do a little bit of decorating without spending much money.

I made this from a frame I got at the Dollar Tree. I got the idea for this easy, inexpensive wall decor here. It looks great in our guest bathroom.

I made this from a wooden plaque I got at Michael’s for $1.99. I had some brown paint and scrapbooking paper on hand. I was a little disappointed that the ink on the Bible verses smeared when I used Mod Podge, but I guess it kind of makes it look Shabby Chic. And for that price, for temporary home decor, I’m happy with it.

What’s your favorite, inexpensive way to decorate your home?

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