Sunday, October 31, 2010

Deals...Deals...and MORE Deals!

There are so many sites that offer deals or coupons. You can buy a discount or coupon for pretty much anything!
They all offer great deals, with huge discounts.
Here are a few sites, just to name a few…

Media One Deals Utah
       Presented by local Utah news agencies. This is the of best!!!  Great local deals!
Citydeals
       This site offers many types of deals with different discounts.  They don't just offer one a day like the other sites.
Groupon
       Groupon is one of the best state to state sites.  I have had the best luck with them.  I bought a paragliding experience from them, and it was a great deal! Deals are located all over the United States.  If you travel, you can by deals where ever you go. I watched the California link, and bought surfing lessons for when we went to California!(we had to plan to use the coupon.)
Living Social
       This is a new site.  They don't have deals everyday. I have not bought from this site.
Deals That Matter
       This site offers deals mostly around South Jordan area.  Great deals.
Screamin Daily Deals
       Screamin Daily Deals isn't my favorite. Their customoer service is aweful!  If you sign someone up hoping you will get a referal, think again.  Unless the person buys with in 2 days of signing up, you will not get a fun $10 credit!
KSL Deals
       Local deals!  Really great site!  On this site we bought Olympic Park passes for 1/2 off.
http://www.utahsrealdeals.com/
      Channel 4 deals.  These are deals until they are gone, not just a daily thing.
My EZ Deal
       Coming soon.
How do you tell what coupons are right for you? Is it worth your time to buy it, or will it just a waste of money?
Every morning my email account is filled up with a bunch of coupon offers.  Which ones do I buy?

Here are a few questions you can ask before you click the "BUY" button.
Is the coupon in your area?
Or do you drive near that area regularly?
If the answer if "No" to both those questions, I would suggest you don't buy the coupon.
No matter what type of deal it is, if you are not driving near that location you are not going to use it. It is not worth buying it.
The only exception to that rule is if it is an internet coupon, or an activity that you or you family would love to do.
If it is a fun activity you want to do, here are some questions to ask.
When does the coupon expire?
Will you have the time or when will you do it. If yes, then make a plan, and write it on the calendar.
Another question is if you really like what you are buying? If you like yogurt, but only go once a month, then you might only want to buy one coupon for yogurt. Just because it is a deal doesn’t mean you have to buy a ton of them. I had a friend buy a laser hair removal coupon. Then when she went into the doctors her skin was too sensitive to do the laser. Now she is out the $120 for the coupon. Just be careful.

You can get some really great deals!  I love that I have been able to go and do so many fun and interesting things.  Hope these tips help you to decide which ones are best to get!

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Stop the SWEAT!

In the 1980's there was a commercial that said "Never let ‘em see you sweat!" Remember that? I do, and I could never get my body to cooperate and stop sweating. Starting at my tween years, and continuing up to a few years ago I would lather myself up with that white stuff. I would buy anything that said something about “extra protection” cause I sure needed it! I did find that my body began to need more and more of it. Just a normal deodorant wouldn’t work for me, I had to have more. It got to the point that I had to get a prescription to help stop the sweating! My husband told me about the “Crystal” he used, and that it really worked great. I gave it a try, and it didn’t work at all for me, I was a sweaty mess!!! My body and sweating was getting worse and worse so I, in desperation, tried it again. I dedicated myself to using it for 6 months, and if it didn’t work then, I would stop. The first few months were really hard. I couldn’t stop my body from sweating, and I seemed to sweat more. Some of the days were so bad I had to take a shower twice just to control the sweat. Finally after about 3 months my body started to decrease. The waterfall that had seemed to run from my arm pits was finally getting under control! All those years of using antiperspirants had finally worked their way out of my body. By the time the 6 month mark hit, I was amazed at how much less I sweated. The best part about it was that I wasn’t worried about “hiding” my smell, or sweat anymore.
I still sweat, but not at all like I used to!
The Crystal has been such a huge positive change in my life.

Here are my tricks:

You HAVE to use it everyday. 

You have to wet the top to apply, use warm water not cold.

It can damage your marble countertops.  It dulls the top surface.  We haven't had a problem with cultured marble, or granite.

Don't tap it on your fauset, it is mineral based and will eventually cause hard water deposits on that area.

If you miss or forget to put it on you will KNOW it!

If you get stinky, you have to wash your armpits, not just re-apply.
The product works by stopping the bacteria growth.  If you start to smell, bacteria is already growing and they don't just die with a reapplicaion.

I have found I need to cover all the skin around my armpit, LET IT SIT for a moment. You don't have to let it completely dry, just soak in for a minute.

If you wipe it off by putting a shirt on, you will find it won’t work as well.

Don't drop it, it will break.  Then it can scratch and burn as you put it on. (no fun!)

I don't like the "Spray Crystal."  It's cold, and didn't seem to work as well.

Dedicate yourself to the product, don't jump between different things. 
If you give it a try just remember you have years of antiperspirants that will want to make you sweat, keep on trying!

(PS This also works on my boys smelly feet!!!  I use one for body and one for my boys feet. YAY!)

Hope it works for you!!!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Sharpie Baby!!!

The scenario: Your child has a fever. You grab the bottle of Ibuprofen and open it. Then you realize you don’t remember the dose, and you tip the bottle to check the dosage. The Ibuprofen spills onto the counter top and floor. You then check the bottle, looking closely at the small print for the dose. Find it, give it, and then clean up.

There is a better way!

Write with a sharpie pen your children’s name/s on the bottle. You can also just use the first initial of each child. Then put the exact dosage that the child should receive, and I always put how often you can give it also.
Example:
R= ½ t 6-8 hrs E= 1t
I also mark my children’s prescription bottles with their names and amounts.
This makes it so much easier to know the exact dose and be able to do it quickly.
Also I like to make sure the times that medication is given on our calendar. That way everyone is on the same time line, and there is less chance of a double dose.

Example:
E= Ace- 8:30 AM
E= Ibu- 11 AM
Use abbreviations for medications: Ace for Acetaminophen, Ibu for Ibuprofen, anti for antibiotic, A for antihistamine. Whatever you choose will be great! Just makes it easier to use abbreviations.
I used this system when our whole family got strep last year. It helped me to keep track of who needed what and when. We were able the finish the whole 10 days of treatment with out missing a dose! I also put helpful sticky notes on tables and mirrors so I knew when the next dose would be. 

I came up with this idea when my oldest had surgery as a baby. Not only did he need an antibiotic they also had him on two separate doses of pain killers. It was crazy trying to juggle the medications he had to take. Using this helped me keep track.

Hope you find it helpful!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Save Your Chicken!

I've killed many a chicken tender by cooking it too long.  Over cooked chicken isn't something I am proud of, but has happened often at our dinner table.   Making sure the chicken is fully cooked has been my goal, but the result has been chewy unpalatable chicken.  For my birthday my sister bought me a meat thermometer.  It has SAVED my chicken!  The thermometer is called “Thermoworks Super Fast Digital Thermometer.”  This thing is the BEST!  This thermometer takes the temperature ever 3 seconds, and show the reading immediately.   No more waiting for the metal core of the BIG BULKY meat thermometers to warm up.  This one is so quick!  You will be amazed, and your chicken will be tender and YUMMY!  Everyone will be asking for second helpings!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Snowbird Tram Ride

It's that time again to take a trip up Little Cottonwood Canyon and ride the tram at Snowbird.  This weekend and next is customer appreciation days.  Bring a can for the Utah Food Bank or pay $2 and get a ride up the Snowbird tram!  You can ride the tram to the top between 11am-5pm.  This is something our family does every year, and we love it.
Bring your can of food to the tram ticket window and get your passes.  Some years it has been busy, and other times there is hardly anyone there.   You will want to bring jackets and warm clothing because it will be windy and very likly cold at the top.   The ride up is so fun for kids.  If your kids have a tendencly to get motion sick, you might want to stand by a window in the direction you will be traveling.  The tram lifts over the supporting poles and may make the kids a little motion sick.  The ride is a great way to see all the fall leaves, and get the chance to see the top of the canyon.  There honestly isn't much to see once you get up to the top it is pretty desolate and windy.   Once you get to the top you can walk to the base, or ride the tram back down.

Here is a link to the days of the customer appreciation:

http://www.snowbird.com/events/summer/customerappreciation.html