I am relatively certain that if you are reading this blog, you are a friend or family member, and most of you are probably aware that Wes and I on occasion load the van up with our 4 kids and head out west to see our families in Utah. Between us and Utah is this deep pit of terrible weather called Wyoming. We ALWAYS get stranded in Laramie, Cheyenne or both for a day or so trying to get through.

On one such occasion, whee we were stranded for days (yes days), we got sick and dang tired of sitting around in our hotel room. It was Easter weekend, and as the children were hoping to get a visit from the big bunny, we were in need of a mall. We found in our hotel's guidebook an ad for a place called the Sierra Trading Post. We thought it must be like some kind of outlet mall. It is, but not like what we expected. It is this huge amazing store where the deeper you walk into the store, the deeper the discounts get.

It is amazing-mostly outdoorsy-type active wear and items there. Much of what they have is specialized items that you need to buy if you are really into a specific sport or if you want to be into it. There are high end hiking shoes, kayaks, skis and boots, all sorts of clothing and shoes and just about everything in between. But here is the awesome part-many of the items are marked down about 70% or so. There was a $6000 Kayak there marked down to like $600 (or something like that-my memory stinks). It was one of those places that you just wish you had more disposable income so you could get the GREAT deals and markdowns there on the things you might like to have.

When we got home, we wondered if there was an online site for Sierra Trading post, and (yeah) there is!!! And they are currently having their end of year blowout. I was just browsing the clearance items and saw a $2045.05 Swiss watch for $449.95 & $138 rock climbing shoes for $24.95. Just to give you a couple examples of their deals. Check them out!

Amazon.com still has Lightning Deals going on in their Toys and Games section here. I will try to check them out sporadically and let you know if anything really great pops up, but feel free to check it out yourself as well!

I got an email from the The Disney Store letting me know that their "Twice Upon a Year Sale" is currently going on with prices up to 70% off.

Looks like there are a lot of good markdowns, but here are a few that caught my eye as I browsed the site:

OK, I just spend about 2 hours getting this freebie. I have heard it is an awesome one, so I think it is worth trying to get it to work, but I send out a warning-the site is slower than you can imagine.

Click here and add the item to your cart then proceed to check out. You will get the item and the shipping for free when you get to the end (after an eternity of waiting...)

Pizza Hut pizzas really are $10 each for any size, and any toppings! I just ordered 2 LARGE pizzas-one is a Hawaiian Luau pizza & the other is a Super Supreme pizza. The total with tax is in fact $21.40. NICE!!

We rarely eat food out, but this was a good deal for every once in while. Of course, if you just want to get a cheese or pepperoni pizza-I would stick with the Little Caesars $5.55 (I think it is only $5 in Utah) Hot N Ready pizza, but if you are ordering a totally decked out pizza like I just did-Pizza Hut is a good deal!

These SONOMA life + style® Original Bootcut Jeans, vintage wash original price $36 are now on sale for $14.40 online at Kohls. And (gasp) they happened to have my size in!! So, I ordered that, used the EXTRA20 code for 20% off, which took $2.88 off, then I used the NOCHARGE code for free shipping which took the $.99 shipping charge off. In total my card was charged only $12.15 for these $36 pants! YEAH!! I always need jeans!!

Wow-I am a new Kohl's shopper, but boy do I love it! They have some major gold star clearance items going on here.

If you sign up to receive their sale alerts on your email here you will get (to quote their site "an e-mail that'll save you $5 off your next in-store purchase and 10% off your next Kohls.com purchase! Plus you'll receive e-mail updates about our biggest sales, exclusive free shipping offers, promo codes valid for online orders and clearance updates!"

Now, on top of the gold star clearance, the $5 gift card and sale alerts, there are a number of codes out there right now that you can use to order at Kohls online. Velveetah, the forum super moderator on Moms of Omaha has compiled a list of the current codes (You can stack a % off code with a FREE S & H code):

EXTRA20 - 20% off for all customers (unknown exp date)
NEW5053 - 10% off for all customers (unknown exp date)
NOCHARGE - FREE Shipping and Handling (FYI-I heard this one expires today!)
EBTSHIP25 - FREE S & H w/$25 Purchase (Unknown Exp date)
MYPTS15 - 15% off orders $100+ (unknown exp date)

For Kohls Card holders only:

MVCPRFCT4U - 15% off (exp 12/30/09)

Thanks Moms of Omaha and Velveetah!

This is a bit early, but I will post it before I forget. IHOP is celebrating National Pancake Day on February 23, 2010 by offering a free short stack.

This is what their website says: "Join IHOP to celebrate National Pancake Day on Tuesday, February 23, 2010. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., we'll give you one free short stack (three) of our famous buttermilk pancakes. (There is a limit of one free short stack per guest) All we ask is that you consider making a donation to support local children's hospitals through Children's Miracle Network, or other local charities."

The small print reads "The offer is valid at participating restaurants for dine-in only while supplies last and is not valid with any other offer, special coupon or discount."

So, mark your calendars! But be warned-never underestimate the power of the word FREE! When Denny's did a similar promotion last year, I went there a half hour before it started, had to park a mile away walk through deep snow with 3 kids in tow only to find a line that reached about a half mile or so long that was estimated to take 5 hours to take 4-5 hours to get served. I turned around, went to Perkins, paid way too much for breakfast, then watched the news later and saw that many people in the line never got food as it ran out! It was nuts-so prepare for lines! I will still attempt it this time! I cannot resist the word free...

Thank you Mama Cheaps for the heads up on this!