One of the weekly items I used to do that I am bringing back is my Friday feature called Weekend Warriors: Daycations. It is where I share a bunch of info on one of my favorite places to visit in a day or weekend. 

I also told you I would be trying to connect my Weekend Warrior feature with my Where's Wes (Wednesday) feature. So, Wes was at Lake Zorinsky in West Omaha, Nebraska in the picture here.  

So today I am reposting my very most often viewed blog post EVER! The original Weekend Warriors: Lake Zorinsky post can be seen here, or just keep reading because I am posting it below as well! Enjoy!

As a reminder, I intend for this series of posts to give suggestions of good day trips you can make from various locations. Today is a great place to spend a day in Omaha. Some of the other places near Omaha I have covered in the past are:

• The Henry Doorly Zoo here
• Adventureland in Iowa here
• Eugene T Mahoney State Park here
• Shenandoah, Iowa here

Today, I want to talk about a favorite place for our family to visit any day of the week: Zorinsky Lake.  Check out the pictures I took of the sunset over the beautiful lake (this is from up on the trail):

Zorinsky Lake is located at 156th and F streets in West Omaha.

There is a HUGE lake with just over 7 miles of walking trails around it, a couple playgrounds, lots of picnic shelters, and a swimming area with water slides.

We LOVE to walk around the lake as a family and could easily spend all day there. In fact, we spent MANY days there when my husband was in residency. We lived right off the lake and spent a lot of time taking advantage of the great activities it has to offer!

If we were to spend the whole day there now, here is what I would do:

Pack up a cooler for lunch (or the makings of a BBQ), then  choose which of the following activities I wanted to fit in:

• The new pool (This does cost money, but not bad for a daycation-it is a really reasonable rate, but the pools in Omaha are only opened for a limited season each summer. The pools open Memorial Day weekend usually and they close when school starts which is generally around August 10th.)
• Walk around the lake (MY favorite thing to do!)
• Play at the playground
• If I had a boat (or a friend with one) I would happily just go boating all day!
• Fishing
• BBQ

Now, just as an FYI, you can reserve some of the covered shelters if you want to make sure you have a place to eat and hang out. You can find more info about Shelter rentals here.

AND I will add a few things: The water Park is AWESOME and inexpensive for what it is. You could spend all day there if you wanted to! Or spend part of the day there and enjoy the rest the Lake has to offer as well.

So, head on over to Lake Zorinsky and ENJOY!!!

Hey there and welcome to Thrifty Thursday's Thrifty Tips. This week's tips brought to you by my hungry tummy!

 I try to cook at home to save money. I try to make meal plans based on the local grocery deals. I price match at Walmart as much as possible (though I do not have a Super Walmart where I live so that's harder now). I shop local grocery ads, and I seek out local farmer's markets or "produce reclamation" type businesses.

My favorite thing EVER in this area was something I found In Arizona last year called Market on the Move. As I mentioned, we also check out Farmer's Markets (which can either be super pricey or super great deals-check them out and find the right one for you). And the most popular program I have heard friends speak of (and have yet to try) is Bountiful Baskets.

Let me tell you today about MOM (Market on the Move). From their Website:

Market On The Move provides a farmers’ market atmosphere at various locations throughout Metro Phoenix and Tucson areas where partners and supporters of this program can come on a regular basis and make their $10 donation to receive up to 60 lbs. of fresh produce. There is no need to pre-register or pre-donate on line. You can make your donation at the host site. 
Click here for distribution locations, dates, and times.

Basically you bring a $10 donation and you get a box of produce (sometimes other items as well) up to 60 lbs. We discovered MOM way too late in our year in AZ! Wes went down the first week and came home with SO MUCH stuff. So, the next week, I went to a different location and came home with all this:

Now, you may be thinking that is WAY TOO MUCH stuff and it would go to waste. Not so at this house of 7 people. It was all eaten and enjoyed (and I bought this about a week before we moved out). When you go to the location, you make your donation, grab a box and go down a line picking your produce. Some items will have limits (like only 2 watermelons, 4 tomato containers, 2 cantaloupe, 2 pasta boxes above) while others will be take all you can use (like zucchini, Roma tomatoes, and cucumbers above). 

If you do not have a huge family like I do, consider going to MOM with a friend and sharing the produce. Or if you can, this could be AWESOME for you to can up some great food storage! One cool thing a lot of the locations do is to hand out recipe ideas for the produce they give you that day! We used some of their eggplant recipes!

So, if you are in AZ, check MOM out!

As for me and mine in Washington, we will be trying out Bountiful Baskets and you can rest assured we will give a report when we try it!

I admit...today's Where's Wes is a tough one to start with. A Winter pic...good luck. Please Leave guesses as to where you think he might be.

Obviously Wes is not alone in this pic, but it was the best I could do for this location. (BTW Ladies...the handsome young man in the red coat is single still...just sayin!)

Hello friends! Boy I have not been on here much! I have just moved across the country and I am doing my best to settle myself and 5 kids into a new place. I have also been trying to figure out what to do with my blog. I wondered if it was time to retire it altogether or maybe just revamp. I have decided to go with the revamp. I am still a mom of five looking for a great deal, I still want to share great deals, product reviews and other great content. However, my blog has had some changes.

While in Omaha, I focused a lot on local grocery deals, store sales and local free or cheap activities. I tried to do the same when I lived in Scottsdale, AZ last year but found it was difficult. In that area, grocery deal match ups and couponing were not of interest. I think some of it was backlash due to the perception of couponing people now have thanks to shows like Extreme Couponing. Some of it was the fact that most people living in that area do not need to coupon. Whatever the reason, it was a fail-my blog numbers dropped dramatically.

The place I live now is a small town. It does not have the same kinds of options for pricematching and groceries that big cities have. I am still learning how to shop and save money here. Luckily for me there is a FANTASTIC blog locally that is helping me learn. If you are a local or are planning to visit Grays Harbor at any point, make sure to check out Annaliese over at Grays Harbor Deals. Her blog is awesome! And I know her personally-she is awesome too!

Most of my readers live in Utah and Nebraska. I have a good group in Arizona, and I found I have a growing number all over the country-actually all over the world. I learned in looking at my blog stats, that the posts with the most hits are usually my travel posts. Awesome! Reviews and travel posts are the ones I like to do the most!!!

So, here comes the new plan (which is a work in progress, so bear with me): we are bringing back the weekly series! We are continuing to review and give away products, and we are focusing on deals that are not quite so local (that's not to say I won't post local stuff-I will sometimes). 

My former Weekly Series looked like this:

• Sunday: Sunday Savings: Newspaper round up
• Monday: Mommy School Mondays 
• Tuesday: Tuesdays Travels
• Wednesday: Beckee's Best of Omaha Grocery
• Thursday: Thrifty Thursdays (Random thrifty tips on a variety of topics)
• Friday: Weekend Warriors: Daycations
• Saturday: Service Spotlight Saturdays
• 
  

So, did you all read my review of NEW Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme cereal from Big G (General Mills)? If not please go read it here (there is a fantastic story about how General Mills helped my sister and her autistic son out!)  

I told you there that I was sent all of this:


Which looks like this when unpacked:


Well, Guess what?!  MyBlogSpark and General Mills are providing another pack like the one pictured above for me to give away!!!! If you are interested in winning this prize, please enter on the form below (I am trying out a new entry method called Giveaway Tools. I find it easier to enter on these forms when I am entering giveaways, so I hope it will be easier for you on here as well!):

Hey there friends, please continue to read this post and find out why I LOVE General Mills, but also head over to this post and enter my #GIVEAWAY of the product in this review!
I love being able to share new products with you! I love to try new products and when I love them, I want to tell all my friends and family all about them! That being said, I have been very absent from the blog for quite some time (have you noticed?) That is because I have been moving across the country! We relocated from Arizona to Washington state. And I am still crazily trying to unpack and organize my new home, but there is a product I really, REALLY want to tell you about! A product I got to try, realized I loved, THEN realized that it was made by a brand that I ADORE!! So, let me just tell you about it! What is it?  I was asked, through MyBlogSpark to try out and review the NEW Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme cereal from Big G (General Mills).  Here's a little about the cereal (as provided to me from MyBlogSpark and General Mills:

With an irresistible taste the whole family will love from a brand you trust, new Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme cereal is made from 100% whole grains with at least 14g of whole grain per serving (at least 48g recommended daily). Best of all, Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme cereal has only 9 grams of sugar per serving and is a good source of Calcium, Vitamin D, and 10 other essential vitamins and minerals. 

What did we think?

OK, so I mentioned that I was sent some of this awesome cereal to try. I was actually sent all of this:

Which looks like this when unpacked:

Fabulous, right? We thought so. We got the package for this review RIGHT as we were leaving for our move. We actually took the first picture of the contents of the package then we put it right in a box (the movers were there when we got it). Well, we boxed up all but the cereal. The cereal we ate-and we loved! Loved so much we have bought many boxes in our travels!

I thought it was like eating a cookie for breakfast, but not so sugary sweet (as far as my taste buds were concerned). I loved the flavors and the textures, and my kids loved it even more. Oh-let me give you a peek into the box:

And guess what?! It tastes even better than it looks! I would absolutely buy this cereal (and have bought it) for myself, my husband and my kids-we ALL give it a double thumbs up! LOVE it!

So, Beckee loves the cereal, tell us why she loves General Mills so much?! 

I was so excited when I noticed that this is a General Mills cereal because recently my sister had a fabulous experience with General Mills and her young autistic son. I loved General Mills before, ut now I adore them and I am brand loyal for life! I asked my sister to write about her experience so I can share it with you. Here's what she had to say:

I recently had an amazing experience with General Mills.  My son with Autism has been saving his money to purchase General Mills boxes with the collectible Mini-Minions from Despicable Me 2.  He was finally able to collect 7 of the 8 mini-minions and was so excited.  He played with them all the time and kept them in a safe place at home when he wasn't playing with them.  Unbeknownst to us, his little brother got a hold of 5 of them and brought them to a very busy local event and promptly lost them!  My son was devastated when he came home to find only 2 of his mini-minions in his room.  He cried for hours.  We went to several stores to see if we could find more cereal boxes with mini-minions, but they were nowhere to be found.  I put a plea on facebook to all my friends asking if they had any of these mini-minions and if they'd be willing to part with them.  I put a comment on the "Lucky Charms" facebook page asking how I could find more of them.  Imagine my surprise when I got a personal message from a member of the Lucky Charms team at General Mills offering to send my son an entire set of all 8 mini-minions for FREE and include some coupons for cereal as well!  After I emailed her back with my mailing address I recieved another email from her saying that the Lucky Charms team at General Meals had discussed our situation and wanted to send us not one, but TWO full sets of mini-minions-1 for each of my boys involved in the situation!  When I told my son that they were going to do that he was thrilled!!  I have not seen an expression of relief and pure joy like that ever before!  Thank you General Mills and Lucky Charms for taking the time to help us out with this!  It may seem like a small thing to most people, but to a child with Autism this is HUGE!!  

Thank you!!

I love, love to support any company that will help their customers like that! You have no clue what a big deal this was to my nephew!

Where to connect with General Mills:

• Website: http://www.generalmills.com/Brands/Cereals.aspx

•  General Mills on Facebook: Facebook.com/General-Mills

•  General Mills on Twitter: @GeneralMills

I am so grateful to MyBlogSpark and General Mills for letting me try the fantastic new Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme cereal. It is fantastic! Go buy some-you will get a great cereal, support a great company and your tummy will thank you! :) 

By way of Disclosure, the prize pack I received and the information was provided to me from MyBlogSpark and General Mills.

It's true, I am addicted to Old Navy...really. I love it. I feel like most of my clothes are Old Navy. So, I am always excited when I get the chance to score some FREE ON clothing AND to get something free for a friend too!

In case you have not read my previous posts about this, let me explain: I have been a member of Crowdtap (which is a place you get to share your opinions and sometimes even get to sample awesome items) for quite a while now. I love all the different things I get to discuss, review and try out through them. My favorite things though are always the Old Navy sample and share programs. If chosen, you get a coupon for a free item for yourself and a free item for a friend. I have been lucky enough to do quite a few sample and share projects. I reviewed Old Navy Jeans, Old Navy Outerwear/coats, Old Navy Shorts, Old Navy Dresses, Old Navy Active Wear and Old Navy Perfect Tees. This time I got the opportunity to once again try out the NEW Old Navy Active Wear (I think maybe someone is trying to tell me I should be more active...Touche.) :)

I was about to visit a friend in Cali when I got the coupons, so I gave one to her and I kept mine to redeem when I returned from vaca. I loved, LOVED checking out all the new activewear! SO cute! There were a number of things I loved! Now, I was in Arizona shopping, so a lot of the activewear is geared toward a hot climate. Which is great, but keep in mind, I am about to move to a significantly cooler climate...so I was looking for the warmer options! Here are some of the wonderful items I tried on (and LOVED). (Please excuse my poor picture taking, my CRAZY hair, and my daughter in a few shots!)





In the end it was really REALLY hard for me to choose what to get. So I did something rare for me, and I bought an additional item! This is the outfit I bought:


The shirt and pants were free with my coupon, and the jacket was on clearance for less than $11. (Have I mentioned I LOVE Old Navy clearance!!!!!)

BTW, my friend told me that she got "the cutest black striped workout pants and black running pull over jacket." So glad she was able to get her awesome Old Navy Active wear as well!!

I love Old Navy clothes! LOVE them and I am so grateful for the opportunity to try them out for free! Thank you CrowdTap and Old Navy!

If you also want the chance to become a Crowd Tapper so you can apply for future sampling events, please join through my referral link here and we can start tappin together! :)

***By way of Disclosure, I was given a coupon for me to get a free ON outfit, as well as a free coupon for a friend. Thanks CrowdTap and Old Navy for this fun experience and these free outfits for me and my friend!!***

In spite of my horrible blogging as I am trying to get through this crazy, CRAZY time in my life (with my husband finally finishing fellowship, getting a "real doctor job", and moving across the country...again...while getting 5 kids through the end of the school year). I felt I should share this info with you from one of my favorite sites: Swagbucks!



Swagbucks is giving away forty eight different 1000 Swag Bucks prizes, and you have 48 hours to win one of them! All you have to do is complete Special Offers on Swagbucks.com - for you each Swag Buck you earn from a special offer, you get entries to win!

The 48 hour clock begins at 12pm PT on 5/28 and ends at 12pm PT on Thursday, 5/30. The winners will be chosen and credited on Tuesday, June 4th. If you're not a member of Swagbucks yet, it's an easy way to make your time online more rewarding - just sign up for an account and you'll earn Swag Bucks for doing all of the things you're already doing online - then turn those Swag Bucks into free gift cards! I've already used Swag Bucks to get lots of Amazon gift cards!!

OK friends! I sure hope you have ahd the chance to see the awesomeness that is the new Cottonelle ad campaigns! If not, check this gem out (it's my favorite of a whole campaign full of great ads):
The #CottonelleCleanCrew wants us all to think about why we think it is ok to wipe our tushies with dray paper towels. Wouldn't a wet option work better? Well, the#CottonelleCleanDrew adn #Crowdtap send me some Cottonelle to test that out.

I was sent the following items:

• One 18pk Cottonelle Clean Care Toilet Paper (for me) 
• Two 4pks of Cottonelle Clean Care Toilet Paper (for two friends) 
• Three tubs of Cottonelle Fresh Care Flushable Wipes (for me and two friends)

Oh My Goodness! I just might be addicted to Old Navy...really. I love it. I feel like most of my clothes are Old Navy. So, I am always excited when I get the chance to score some FREE ON clothing AND to get something free for a friend too!

In case you have not read my previous posts about this, let me explain: I have been a member of Crowdtap (which is a place you get to share your opinions and sometimes even get to sample awesome items) for quite a while now. I love all the different things I get to discuss, review and try out through them. My favorite things though are always the Old Navy sample and share programs. If chosen, you get a coupon for a free item for yourself and a free item for a friend. I have been lucky enough to do quite a few sample and share projects. I reviewed Old Navy Jeans, Old Navy Outerwear/coats, Old Navy Shorts, Old Navy Dresses, and Old Navy Active Wear. My most recent opportunity was for an Old Navy Perfect Tee Shirt Sample and Share and I want to tell you all about it!

I have a terrible admission to make about this Sample Share opportunity. In spite of my great excitement, I did not make it to Old Navy before my coupon expired. It was a sad blow, but I was so excited about the Old Navy perfect Tee's that I wanted to make sure to go get one (or 3) anyway! So, I headed to Old Navy to shop for MY perfect Tee. I also brought my sister-in-law with me. In the end we found a lot of FABULOUS tee shirts there and I bought a few (3) for me, one for my sister-in-law and one for my daughter. I want to share with you all some of the pictures of the great shirts I tried on:







And here are the 3 shirts I bought for myself:



My sister-in-law got a shirt like the v neck ones I bought, but hers was red. She is going to send me a picture of it and I will add it to this post when it comes.

My daughter's name means Peace, and she LOVES Peace signs. So when I saw this shirt in the Graphic Tees section I had to get it for her:

All in all I have to say, Old Navy has lots of great shirts-different styles and options. There really should be something for everyone I believe! And for you deal loving friends out there I have to tell you that I was in there the other day, and lots of their Tee shirts are on sale for FANTASTIC prices (like $5-$6.)

This has nothing to do with the tee shirts, but I have to tell you that when you head over to Old Navy to check out the AWESOME Tees, (or for any other reason) make sure you head to the back of the store and check out the current clearance section. Look at the skirt I am wearing in this picture:

I got it in the clearance section for (you'll never believe it) $.97 (gasp)! For real! It was marked down and I like it even more and feel it is all the more fabulous for the fact that is was such a FAB DEAL!!!

***By way of Disclosure, I was given a coupon for me to get free ON shirts, as well as a free coupon for a friend. Though I did not use them and bought my own shirts, I still want to thank CrowdTap and Old Navy for this fun experience and these free coupons!!***


If you also want the chance to become a Crowd Tapper so you can apply for future sampling events, please join through my referral link here and we can start tappin together! :)