As you may have noticed today I am somewhat up and running. This desktop is a bit iffy, so until the laptop returns from the hospital (which could be weeks), I will be doing the best I can on this thing. Today I will be trying to wade through a weeks worth of emails and deals to get you the best I can find! Thanks for your patience and continued support as I try to get my computer issues dealt with!

Lost of fantastic holiday deals this week due to the 4th of July, so I will just post some of my favorites:

Hyvee

• Hy-Vee 8 ct Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns $.77
• Keebler or Sunshine crackers 50% off
• Coke Products 12 packs or 6 pack bottles 5/$12 (with in ad coupon, that makes them $2.40 each which is less then the 24 packs at Walmart for $5 each)
• Cantelope $.99 each
• Kiwi 4/$1
• Buy 12 Piece Chicken Pack for $10 get a 12 pack of Coke FREE (with in ad coupon)
• Oscar Meyer or Louis Rich Hot Dogs or Bologna $.99
• Hy-Vee Butter 16 oz sticks or blocks $1.77
• Gatorade, G2 or Propel 10/$10 plus buy 10 get 5 Propels free (with in ad coupon)

In addition to the regular weeklong sale, Hy-vee is also running a 2 day sale Thursday July 1 & Friday July 2 that includes the following deals:

• 16 oz roll 85% lean fresh ground beef $1.79 (limit 4)
• Pepsi Product 2 Liters $.77
• Eggo Waffles 5/$4
• Doritos, Fritos or Cheetos 17-22 oz Buy 1 at $4.99, get 1 FREE
• Banquet Frozen Meals 10/$7
• Sara Lee Whole Grain White Bread (the ones with Toy Story 3 prizes) $.99
• Bar-S Jumbo Franks $.59 (limit 2)
• Charmin Bath tissue 9 large rolls $3.88

In addition to those great deals, the new Stony Brook Hy-vee has an ad running through July 4th that includes the following:

• Van Camp's Pork n Beans $.18 (limit 4)
• Betty Crocker Fudge Brownie 18.3 oz $.48 (limit 2)
• Certified ground chuck $1.88/lb (limit 5 lb)
• Kool-Aid Drink Mix $.08

No Frills Fresh

• Whole Boneless Pork Loin $1.59/lb
• Sara Lee 8 ct Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns $.98
• 40 oz Our Family Ketchup $.88
• Our Family Jumbo Franks $.69

In addition to the regular week long sale, No Frills Fresh has a 3 day sale going on Thursday July1-Saturday July 3rd that includes the following:

• 80% Ground Beef $1.48/lb
• Our Family Water 24 packs $1.98 (limit 2)

In addition to those sales, the NEW No Frills Fresh on 204th and Pacific is having a sale from June 30 through July 6th that includes the following:

• Oreos $1.48 (limit 2)
• 93% lean ground beef $1.88 (any size package)
• Tombstone pizza 12 inch $1.98 (limit 5)
• Dr Pepper, 7Up, RC or Squirt 12 packs 4/$8 (when you buy 4-making them $2 each!!)

Bag N Save

• Bi-Color Sweet Corn 6/$1 (limit 24)
• Propane Exchange $17.88
• Tyson Frozen Boneless Chicken Breasts $1.99/lb
• Bar-S Jumbo Franks $.69 (limit 5)

In addition to the regular week long sale, Bag N Save also has a 3 day sale running Sunday July 4th through Tuesday July 6th that includes the following deals:

• Village Hearth or Country Hearth bread $.99
• Charmin Basic Bath Tissue 12 ct big rolls $3.99
• Purex Ultra 2X Detergent 50 oz $1.99

Baker's (Remember their sales are almost always WITH card)

• Honestly not a lot here today, but there is a deal where you buy 10 participating items and get $3 off that has a lot of options than could make a good deal.

Aldi

• Just dipped Sundae cones $2.99
• Sundae Nut Cones $1.99
• Ice Cream Sandwiches $1.99
• Red White & Blue Pops $1.99
• 4th of July Ice Cream Cake $9.99

Super Saver

• Seedless Red Grapes $.88/lb
• Pepsi Product 24 packs $3.98 each when you buy 2 (limit 2) 
• Whole Seedless Watermelon $.22/lb
• Best Choice Whipped Topping $.74
• Lay's Potato chips 10.5-11 oz $1.48
• Kraft American Cheese Singles $.98 (limit 2)
• Roberts Sour Cream or Dip $.88
• Kraft BBQ Sauce 18 oz Original, Honey, or Hickory $.68

Walmart also has an ad out this week for the 4th of July. It runs from June 27-July 4th and includes the following deals:

• $5 24 packs of soda all different kinds.
• Great Value Frozen Beef Patties 3 lbs (12 1/4 lb patties) $6
• Large Slicing Tomatoes $.88/lb
• Doritos 11.5-12 oz $1.98
• Tropicana Punch or Minute Maid Lemonade or Punch, 64 oz $1
• Suddenly Salad 2 pack $2
• Lots of Grills on sale
• Lots of Toy Story deals
• Family Swim Center 120" Inflatable Pool $25
• Slip N Slide Surf Rider $5
• Coppertome Continuous Spray Twin Pack $12.50

***Remember that I generally just price match at Walmart as much as I can rather than go to all the stores separately! I LOVE being able to do that. You can also pricematch at Target, but I find it easier to pricematch at Walmart.

Milio's is offering free sandwiches to those who have served int he nilitary on the 4th of July. You just need to go into a participating Milio's and show a Military ID or VA card to get your free sandwich. I would call your local Milios before stopping in to make sure they are participating. Click Here to find a store near you!

Today's Omaha Groupon is a great deal for those summer days with the kids! It is $5 for $10 Worth of Gourmet Coffee, Espresso Drinks, Paninis, and More at Bear Creek Coffee ($100 Value).

As with all the deals, make sure you check out the fine print before purchasing. To sign up for Groupons, click on my referral link here (this does NOT commit you to buying any deal-you choose what you buy) and to see the Omaha page, including today's deal, click here.

Not sure what Groupons is? Then click here to read all about it!

Today's Salt Lake City Groupon is $30 for $60 Worth of Services at Cake Hair Salon.

As with all the deals, make sure you check out the fine print before purchasing. To sign up for Groupons, click on my referral link here (this does NOT commit you to buying any deal-you choose what you buy) and to see the Salt Lake City page, including today's deal, click here.

Not sure what Groupons is? Then click here to read all about it!

This is incredibly cool! I hope some of you Utahns take advantage of this/ What a perfect FREE date night!

The Capitol Preservation Board is excited to be teaming up with the Utah Film Commission to present the Utah State Capitol 3rd annual summer film series, "Movies Under the Stars", featuring four "Made in Utah" movies:

July 1 - The Sandlot (1993) MADE IN UTAH
July 8 - Legally Blonde 2: Red..., White & Blonde (2003) MADE IN UTAH
July 15 - Planet 51 (2009)
July 22 - Forever Strong (2008) MADE IN UTAH
July 29 -The Goonies (1985)
August 5 -The World Fastest Indian (2005) MADE IN UTAH
August 12 -The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009)
August 19 - Monsters vs. Aliens (2009)
August 26 - The Blindside (2009)

Films will be shown at dusk on the southeast corner lawn of the Utah State Capitol and are FREE to the public. So bring your picnics, blankets, and friends, and enjoy this years Movie Under the Stars!

LOVE this!! Check out & join their Facebook page here.

Wow-Well, as it turns out, my laptop has more than just a virus-it has a collapsing hard drive that has to go all the way to the Toshiba people (which, if you watch Modern Marvels, you know that that really means it goes to a UPS hub to be worked on) to get fixed. It could take anywhere from 1-2 WEEKS! AHHHHHHH....

So, to try to get the ancient desktop to work faster, I have spent all day getting all pictures, documents and such OFF this thing and on to our external hard drive so I can actually use it and blog again. Things are looking good on that front!

Speaking of pictures, I wanted to tell you all about the wonderful miracle of this whole ridiculous thing. When the laptop collapsed (well not completely, but mostly), my first thought was "Oh crap! I have no back up for the pictures on there!". Usually the best of my pictures is "backed up" on my personal blog, but I am literally about 9 months behind on that currently. so I wanted to cry. I JUST took a ton of cute pics in a photo shoot with the kids and the only place they were saved was on that laptop. Well, what it is doing, is basically overheating and shutting itself down randomly-and NEVER more than 15 minutes on at a time. Well, I miraculously (and patiently) got all our pictures off the laptop 10 minutes at a time over the past 2 days (as well as my husbands important applications and resumes for his fellowship)!

SO, I thought I would let you know that in spite of all the sadness of the injured laptop, I was able to save the important things, and I will end up getting back a like new laptop in the end (that is still covered under warranty by the way)! SO, I have a lot to be thankful for and I promise I will get in gear looking up deals again now that this desktop seems to be working better!

Now on to getting the Air Conditioner fixed! :)

Well, what a crazy day! Do you ever feel like EVERYTHING is falling apart around you all at once? This week alone, my car died, my AC died, my laptop died and BOTH of our toilets sprung leaks...ahhh...

By way of explanation for my blogging absence...here at Beckee's Abode, we have 2 "working" computers-a nice newish laptop and a very slow, ancient desktop. The desktop takes like 10 minutes just to start up and is slow as molasses once it is up!

Currently, our laptop is in the computer hospital as it was infected by a terrible virus. I am feeling like my right arm was removed. This is the first time today I have been able to get online (some earlier posts went up that were pre-written and scheduled) and my poor husband who is working nights this week has been up all day today helping with the laptop (which as I mentioned ended up at the shop anyway).

Needless to say, I am currently on the ancient desktop trying to get this out just to let you know why I am absent from my blog world. It may be a day or two before I get up and running again, so I REALLY apologize. Please don't give up on me though, I will be having some fun and exciting things coming up when I get this newest problem fixed!

As I mentioned last week, Cat over at 4 Nuts in a Nutshell is doing a great summer challenge. It is a 120 mile walk or run challenge, and I have decided to take the challenge. After all, we walk to the lake near our house (3 miles round trip) as a family 3-6 times a week, so this should be easy, right?

Well, I am still behind, btu making some progress.  I should be at 40 miles by the end of the month (June 30-next Wednesday).  I do not know if I will make that or not!

So, this is where you great readers come in...I need to be held accountable for my walking. So far I have been out of town week 1 and sick most of week 2 which are my excuses for being behind, but excuses will not help me accomplish the challenge. So, I am going to give you an update of my progress each Friday to try to be more accountable and motivated. If anyone is doing this challenge with Cat, or if you want to just jump in and do it as a support to me, you can leave your progress and updates in comments.

Come on, let's get moving!!

Thanks Cat for doing this challenge and getting my butt in gear! And thanks in advance to my readers for helping me stay motivated!

Right now I walked 13 miles this week which brings my total to 30 miles for the challenge overall.

Remember, as with EVERY Friday, today is Mega Swagbucks day! That means more chances to earn more Swagbucks! So, makes sure to use Swagbucks for all your searching needs today!

FYI-I have already made $80 in Amazon gift cards and still have 894 points left (which is enough to get another $5 with 444 swagbucks left). (450 swagbucks = $5 Amazon gift card) The bucks keep building up!

Last week I used my Amazon gift cards to buy a portable hard drive (on sale) that we have been trying to save up the money for-thanks to Swagbucks I was able to get it without putting in ANY of my money-I only used my Swagbucks gift cards!!! It came yesterday and we are so excited!!!

If you have not joined yet, click on my referral link here and start earning Swagbucks with me! This is a GREAT time to join-with Mega Swagbucks going on today!!

If you are new to Swagbucks, please read my explaination of Swagbucks here. And my explaination of the changes to Swagbucks here.